Wednesday Catch-Up 23rd December 2015

Every Wednesday we are linking up with WWW Wednesday, What Are You Reading Wednesday? and Waiting on Wednesday. WWW Wednesday is hosted at Taking on a World of Words and asks 3 questions: What are you currently reading?, What did you recently finish reading? What do you think you'll read next? 

What Are You Reading Wednesday are hosted on It's a Reading Thing and asks;

1. What's the name of your current read?

2. Go to page 34 or 34% in your e-book and share one complete sentence.

3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted at Breaking the Spine and is a chance to show what upcoming releases you are excited for! Each week we will take it in turns to choose a book for Waiting on Wednesday and this week was Clare's turn! You can click any of the pictures in the post to go to that books goodreads page.

Ann:

Currently Reading:

I am currently reading Crown of Midnight which I am really enjoying.

"There was nothing interesting about the elegant, green-roofed town-house," - Page 34 Crown of Midnight

For some parts of this book I feel like I would love to live in this world but then something happens that makes me change my mind. 

Recently Finished:

I finished Illuminae and really loved it, it was brilliant and I loved how unique it was. I then read Throne of Glass which I've been planning to read for so long and I loved the development of the characters.

Planning to Read Next:

Next I am planning to read The Testing which Clare got me from the Library and it sounds like a very good book. And then I may start The Hunt which Clare got me yesterday and they sound like a great read.

Clare:

Currently Reading:

I am just about to start Married by Christmas by Scarlett Bailey. I love books about wedding and books about Christmas and I have enjoyed her books in the past so I hope I will enjoy this.

"I'm marrying you, the singularly most perfect woman I have ever encountered in my life. The only woman in the world who irons her PJs before getting into bed and, most importantly of all, the woman that I love." - Page 34, Married by Christmas

Recently Finished:

I read Their Fractured Light first last week which I really enjoyed, I thought it was an excellent ending to the series although I think I did love the first two books a tiny bit more. I then read For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund which was nothing like I had expected but I nevertheless enjoyed it. I also read the sequel/companion Across a Star-Swept Sea which was a Scarlet Pimpernel retelling and I did enjoy it, there was a cameo with the characters from the first book which I didn't like as much as I thought I might but I liked the main character a lot. And I also just finished Just For Christmas by Scarlett Bailey which I enjoyed. Not a fan of a love triangle but I did really like how cute this was.

Planning to Read Next:

I should have a lot of free time today and tomorrow so I am hoping to get through a lot of my Christmas books! I love Christmas books in general so hopefully these will bring me out of the slump I've been in lately.

Waiting on Wednesday:

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

She’s more gunpowder than girl—and the fate of the desert lies in her hands.
Mortals rule the desert nation of Miraji, but mystical beasts still roam the wild and barren wastes, and rumor has it that somewhere, djinni still practice their magic. But there's nothing mystical or magical about Dustwalk, the dead-end town that Amani can't wait to escape from.
Destined to wind up "wed or dead," Amani’s counting on her sharpshooting skills to get her out of Dustwalk. When she meets Jin, a mysterious and devastatingly handsome foreigner, in a shooting contest, she figures he’s the perfect escape route. But in all her years spent dreaming of leaving home, she never imagined she'd gallop away on a mythical horse, fleeing the murderous Sultan's army, with a fugitive who's wanted for treason. And she'd never have predicted she'd fall in love with him...or that he'd help her unlock the powerful truth of who she really is. 

Clare: This just sounds like a book designed for me. I am beyond excited for this and it's released just before my birthday in March which I love!

You can also find us on Goodreads (Ann and Clare) to keep up with what we are reading

Top Ten Books I Wouldn't Mind Santa Leaving Under My Tree This Christmas

Top Ten Tuesdays is an original feature created by The Broke and The Bookish and you can find their page here. 

Clare:

1) Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes

I've been wanting to read these for so long and I just feel like it needs to happen already!

2) Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare

I mean yes, I already have all the books in this series BUT I don't have these covers! That makes sense yes?

3) How to Survive a Sharknado by Andrew Shaffer

A bit of a cheat because I know my little brother got me this for Christmas, I am obsessed with Sharknado so this will be amazing!

4) White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout

I keep saying I love her writing and yet I haven't read anything but the Lux series yet. I need to get on this quick!

5) The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

I am so late to this bandwagon. I've actually heard some mixed things about this but assassins and princesses and mistaken identities sounds perfect for me.

Ann:

6) Username: Evie by Joe Sugg

I would love to get this for Christmas.

7) Sandrider by Angie Sage

I would really really love to get this book because I really wanna read it.

8) Once Up a Time: Reds Untold Tale by Wendy Toliver 

If I found this under the tree I would be soooo happy. 

9) The Night of the Solstice by L.J.Smith

I don't know much about this book but it sounds really good so I would like to read it as well.

10) The Steampunk Chronicles by Kady Cross

I love steampunk and would really love to read some more steampunk books. I read the first in this series and loved it so I need to continue it.

You can also find us on Goodreads (Ann and Clare) to keep up with what we are reading

Sunday Post 20th December 2015

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted at Caffeinated Book Reviewer, it's a chance to post a recap on the past week, show the books we have received and share what we plan for the coming week. Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews and Showcase Sunday is hosted by Books, Biscuits and Tea and the aim is to show our newest books and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed from libraries, bought in bookshops or downloaded on to their e-reader. As always you can click on any of the pictures to be taken to the Goodreads page for that book if you're interested in finding out more about it.

Yesterday I took the whole family to go and see Star Wars in the cinema and it was a great experience, everyone really enjoyed the film and it was nice to have a day out with everyone which doesn't often happen since there are so many of us! It also means our brother is finally home from University for the holidays (yay!). Since Christmas is on Friday we aren't going to push ourselves to post a lot next week, we have a few posts scheduled but we just want to enjoy the Christmas mood! 

Last Week on the Blog:

• Top Ten Books I've Read in 2015
• Wednesday Catch Up 16th December
• Top 5 Books to Read by the Fire
• Friday Reads

Books We Got This Week:

Clare:

Zodiac by Romina Russell: I love the premise for this book. Definitely excited to read it.
The Winter Wedding by Abby Clements: Tesco had this and the next book on a two for seven pounds offer and I was feeling weak and Christmassy. Plus I love wedding planning.
A Girl's Best Friend by Lindsey Kelk: I really liked the first two books in the series so I am hoping to enjoy this. I think (hope) it's the last book. Cliff-hangers kill me!

Reading Update:

Ann:

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff: 5 stars, I loved it. It was such an amazing book and I think that everyone should read it.

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas: 4.5 stars, This was brilliant and I finally found time to read it cause I was up at 1am the other day because I have been ill recently so I took the time to read it and loved it.

Clare:

Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan: 4 stars, It's been a long time since I read the first book but I was able to get straight back into the swing of things. Way too much miscommunication though. Just. Talk. To. Each. Other. Honestly.

Unmade by Sarah Rees Brennan: 3.5 stars, Same miscommunication problem but otherwise a good ending to the series. I definitely love the humour in these books. But so much romantic angst which is mostly unnecessary. 

This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner: 4.5 stars, Really, really good. I think I loved the first books characters a tiny bit more but I still really loved Lee and Flynn!

Their Fractured Light by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner: 4 stars, This reminded me a little of Illuminae and Winter although I am not sure I could pinpoint why. But since I loved both of those it's all good. Loved the ending.

For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund: 3.5 stars, Not what I had expected, I read Persuasion a very long time ago and from what I can remember this was a fairly accurate retelling. I liked Elliot but didn't always like Kai. Which is pretty similar to there original characters in Persuasion. 

Classics Update:

Ann: I am neither loving nor hating The Great Gatsby. Not the best classic I have ever read.

Clare: I don't know if it's because I've been ill this week but I haven't really had the chance to read any of The Beautiful and Damned.

Next Week on the Blog:

• Top Ten Books We Wouldn't Mind Santa Leaving Under Our Tree This Year
• Wednesday Catch-Up
• Top 5 Series We Want to Start Next Year
• Friday Reads

You can also find us on Goodreads (Ann and Clare) to keep up with what we are reading

Friday Reads 18th December 2015

Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice, the idea is to grab a book, turn to page 56 (or 56% in an e-book) and find any sentence (no spoilers!) and then post it. Book Beginnings is hosted by Rose City Reader to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are currently reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence and impressions about the book.

Ann:

I am still planning on reading the rest of the Throne of Glass series and I am so close to finishing the first book and I am loving it so much. I also plan on reading The Testing which Clare got me from the library the other day and it sounds like a good book.

Book Beginning:

"The shutters swinging in the storm winds were the only sign of her entry. No one had noticed her scaling the garden wall of the darkened manor house, and with the thunder and the gusting wind off the nearby sea, no one heard her as she shimmied up the drainpipe, swung onto the windowsill, and slithered into the second-floor hallway." - Crown of Midnight

Page 56:

"To him, that meant showing up in a black tunic." - Crown of Midnight

Clare:

Our brother is coming back from University tomorrow which means I might not be reading much this weekend. We'll also be watching the new Star Wars movie which is exciting! I am currently reading Across a Star-Swept Sea which is the companion to For Darkness Shows the Stars. I think I may be enjoying this more than FDStS if only because I love Scarlet Pimpernel retellings. I am then planning to read Zodiac by Romina Russell which I have heard good things about and after that I will be starting my Christmas reads with Christmas in the Snow by Karen Swan which I am hoping will be great!

Book Beginning & Friday 56

"If the Wild Poppy dared return to Galatea, Citizen Cutler was ready." - Across a Star-Swept Sea

"But then again, those names ... something was strange about Scintillans." - Page 56, Across a Star-Swept Sea

You can also find us on Goodreads (Ann and Clare) to keep up with what we are reading

Top 5 Books to Read by the Fire

You can find the goodreads page for Top 5 Wednesdays here if you'd like to join in. This week's topic was for books to read by the fire, for example winter and holiday recommendations. I am a very seasonal reader so my December TBR tends to be made up of a lot of Christmas books!

1) Let it Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle

I love John Green and Maureen Johnson (I don't think I've read anything else by Lauren Myracle) so I was always going to read this. I really enjoyed each individual story and I loved how they all came together.

2) Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

I read this last Christmas and it was just perfect for the time of year. I loved the idea and whilst I didn't always like the characters I really enjoyed the book as a whole.

3) Christmas at Tiffany's by Karen Swan

I read this a long, long time ago. She has a lot of Christmas books but this was the first of hers I read and so it holds a special place in my heart. I always enjoy her Christmas books and I have two of them lined up to read this Christmas as well!

4) The Night Before Christmas by Scarlett Bailey

This is actually one of my TBR for this year. I thought I'd include one I haven't read yet but very much want to. I am aiming to read this on Christmas Eve.

5) Willows in Winter by William Horwood

Ann: This is my choice as I am currently reading it. I try to read this every year at Christmas because it just puts me in the Christmas mood!

You can also find us on Goodreads (Ann and Clare) to keep up with what we are reading