Top Ten Tuesday Seventy Seven

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature/meme hosted by The Broke and Bookish.  This weeks topic was one I was so excited for ever since I saw what it was, as what is better than  getting to talk about some of my favourite books and getting to hear about other peoples as well?  This topic also made me realise that I've actually had a better reading year so far than I thought, as there are already so many books that I have loved, and we're only halfway through the year, so hopefully the second half of the year can continue to be filled with many more fantastic books.  And so, enjoy!  

This one was actually more of a spontaneous read, as I actually ended up reading this one very soon after I brought it, something that never happens with me.  I can't tell you how much I adored this one and how much I enjoyed watching Natasha and Daniel face their own problems whilst also watching their relationship grow and develop at the same time, and all through absolutely gorgeous writing and an amazing format.  This one may even be my favourite book of the year so far!  

 At the start of the year I continued slowly making my way through this series that I am in desperate need of reading with this, the third book, and the book that has become my favourite of the series so far.  Whilst I did still love both of the first two books, somehow this one was even better and I adored it even more, especially because of the introduction of the Marauders and of the characters of Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, and so now I am even more excited to continue on with the next book.   

 This is another book in a series that somehow amazed me even more than the first one did, with the world and story becoming so much richer and more complex in this one.  I also loved what happened with the characters in this one, and so can't wait to see what is thrown at them in the next few books.  

The first of two Stiefvater books on this list, The Raven Cycle was another series I continued on with at the start of this year, and whose second book I adored with everything I had.  This one just took me completely by surprise by how much I loved where the story went, as well as how much I enjoyed seeing more of the characters, and in particular exploring Ronan's character so much more, and returning to a writing style so atmospheric that you can't help but get lost in it.  

Strangely this is one that I was definitely not expecting to read, as I hadn't actually heard about it until it was released early this year, but I am so glad that I decided to pick this one up as I ended up absolutely loving it.  I really enjoyed the continuous switch between present day and the past, and loved how emotive and moving this book was as we got to see Griffin grieving for his best friend and first love.  

This is one of my more surprising reads of the year so far, as much as I was interested in reading this one and all, I definitely did not think that I would end up enjoying this one as much as I did.  I really enjoyed the characters and how due to the nature and format of the book we got to see so far into their relationship and watch as it changed and developed throughout this novel.  But possibly the thing that made me love this one as much as I did had to be the way it was set out, as I loved the idea of items having stories behind them and how we got to see an entire story told simply through them.  

Out of all of the books on this list, this is definitely the one that surprised me the most, as I first went into this one with almost no expectations at all, as its not the sort of book I would usually pick up, but I can tell you, I am so glad I did.  I absolutely adored everything about this one, from the characters to the story itself and am already desperate to revisit the world and characters.  

This is another one that had been on my shelf for way too long before I finally picked it up at the start of this year, and fell completely in love with.  I just loved all the different historical aspects of this one , as well as the characters and their growth and development throughout the amazing journey this book takes you on.  

 Finally, I thought I could only end this list with a series finale that instantly became not only one of my favourites out of the series, but also one of my favourite books.  I loved where this final installment took the story and the characters, as well as how we still got introduced to new characters as well, such as Emma Carstairs, and so got to see a little bit of their story.  I honestly couldn't have wanted a better ending that not only made me cry but was also such a heartwarming way to end this series.

What are some of your favourite books of the year so far?  Have you read any of these - what did you think?  

Start of Summer Book Haul!

No matter how often I try to reduce the number of books I buy, when the time comes for me to next write one of these posts, it seems that instead of having less books, I actually have somehow acquired a fair few more!  This time this book haul contains all the books I've brought through the months of May and June, and honestly I think I have quite a mixture of different books from different genres, all of which I am hugely excited to get to and to read hopefully in the next couple of months or at least by the end of the year.  And so, enjoy!  

 I first heard about this book what must be around a year ago now, and ever since have been desperate to pick it up and read it.  The story focuses on Lisa, who dreams of getting into the second-best psychology programme for college, and to do so meets Solomon. who is agoraphobic and so hasn't left the house in three years.  Not only does this sound like a really interesting contemporary read anyway, but I also don't think I've really read much else like this as it just sounds so unique and so different, so I'm really excited to get to this one and see what this book really has to offer.

 Ever since I finished The Dream Thieves back in March, I have been desperately to pick up this one, the next book in the Raven Cycle, and just dive right into it.  As this is the third book in this series, this one follows on from the where the story ends in the second book, and so I'm super excited to see where the story goes next, and to return to some of my favourite characters, especially since I adored The Dream Thieves even more than I loved The Raven Boys.  So, despite having brought this one a few weeks ago now and not yet picking it up, this is definitely one of the books on this list that I am most excited to get to and so it is more than likely that this will end up being one of next reads very soon.

 This one was actually the book I received in the May Fairyloot box, which was also my first ever box from Fairyloot, and so I was more than excited when I opened my box to find this book, as well as many other amazing items, inside.  This book follows Mariko as she is attacked on the way to the imperial palace to meet her betrothed and decides to seek her revenge by infiltrating those who attacked her, the Black Clan.  As much as I am really excited to read this one as it just sounds like a really interesting fantasy, I am trying to go into it without many expectations as despite originally hearing that this one was a Mulan retelling, since its release I've heard countless people say that it actually isn't one, but is still a great read and one that I hope to get too soon nonetheless.

As much as I wasn't particularly planning on buying a lot of these, this is definitely one of those that I picked up very spontaneously this month, as I would actually like to finally read the Infernal Devices trilogy before picking this one up.  This book is collection of short stories that take place directly after the events of City of Heavenly Fire, and follows one particular character as they make their way through the Shadowhunter Academy.  As much as I don't plan on getting to this one straight away, I am very excited to return to the world of the Shadowhunters and to see more of the characters that I love so much.  

This one is a little different to all the others on this list, as I actually hadn't ever heard of this book before my mum actually picked it up for me a few weeks ago now.  This book is a retelling of Les Miserables and tells Eponine's story from her childhood through when she meets Marius and Cosette.  I personally adore both Les Miserables and Eponine as a character in it, so I was instantly drawn into the premise of this book as I love the idea of not only seeing a lot more of the story from Eponine's perspective but also seeing her through her childhood as well, so I'm really excited to get to this book and to see what it has in store.  

I have seen this one everywhere for the past month or so ever since its release at the end of May, and from the moment I first heard about it have been desperately wanting to pick it up for myself.  The story follows Dimple and Rishi, who are arranged to marry each other, as they attend the same summer program and unexpected things start to develop.  This one just sounds like such a cute little contemporary that is perfect for summer, and that, like many of the others in this haul, I can't wait to read very soon.  

Last month I also managed to acquire quite a few classics from a second-hand bookshop near where I live, and I'm so happy that I found all of these gorgeous books in there.  I picked up four books in total, with these including:

Animal Farm by George Orwell

Alice's In Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Shirley by Charlotte Brontë

All of these I am so excited to read, especially Animal Farm, as I have been wanting to read it for a good while now, so I am now able to pick it up and finally read it whenever I want.

Last but not least, my June Fairyloot box managed to come just in time for me to be able include this. the book that came in this months box, in this haul.  This is the first book in a new fantasy series that follows Aurora, the sole heir of Pavan, as she begins to uncover more and more dark secrets about the Stormling Prince from another kingdom who she is to marry.  Somehow I hadn't actually heard anything about this book before receiving this month, so other what I gather from the synopsis, I really don't know anything about what to expect from this book, and so for once I will be going into it with almost no expectations at all.  I'm really excited to see what this one has in store, and hopefully I can get round to it pretty soon and dive into the world of this story.

What books have you picked up recently?  Have you read any of these - what did you think?  Tell me your thoughts in the comments below!

Top Ten Tuesday Seventy Six

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature/ meme hosted by The Broke and Bookish.  After not taking part in Top Ten Tuesday for so long, I knew that this weeks topic was the perfect on to jump back into as there are so many series that I keep meaning to start and just have never got round to actually doing so yet.  A lot of the series on this list I either own at least the first book in the series, or have been wanting to for an absolutely insane amount of time now, so hopefully this list will make me feel that little bit more guilty for not starting some of these so that I will actually pick up at least a few of these pretty soon.  And so, enjoy!  

Out of all of these series, this is definitely the one that I am most desperately in need of actually starting.  Not only have I heard amazing things about this, and need to read this series before I can start Lady Midnight, but this is the one series on this list where I actually already own all of these books, and so can just pick and start this series whenever I want and just marathon it without worrying.

This one is a bit of a strange one compared to the others on this list, as its only as time has progressed and I've slowly heard more and more things about this series that I've become really intrigued in reading it and checking it out for myself.  I just generally love the sound of this one and also am really interested to what the writing style is like, as one of the reasons why I really want to pick this one up is because I've heard it is really beautiful and quite unique, so hopefully I can get round to discovering that for myself very soon! 

Here is the first of two Victoria Schwab series that just sounds so good and so interesting that I can't not want to pick this one and see what this series has on offer.  I also already own the first book, This Savage Song, and so really should get round to reading it, especially as once again the second book in this duology just got released so I wouldn't have to do any waiting for the next book to come out after it.  

Ever since the first book in this series, A Darker Shade of Magic, came out a couple of years ago, I have been desperately wanting to pick this one up as I just love the sound of it and the idea of parallel London's that certain people can travel between.  Not only that, but this last book in this trilogy was just released a few months ago, so I should really get on actually reading this series now that it is complete. 

Ever since I heard that this one was a Beauty and the Beast retelling, I have been so excited about reading this book, yet somehow I still haven't even picked up the first book.  The last book in this trilogy also just came out, so I should really get round to this soon before I accidently hear any dreaded spoilers that I have so far somehow managed to avoid. 

This is yet another one that I have known about and have been wanting to read for so long now that its a wonder how I haven't picked even the first book in this series up yet.  Honestly I'm not 100% sure why I'm so interested in this series, but I just think it sounds like something that I would really enjoy and a fantasy series that I would just really like to give a read soon.  

 Yet again this is another one that I already own, and so logically should just be able to pick it up at any time and start this series, yet for some reason so far that hasn't happened yet.  That said, I think the main reason why this one has yet to be started is because I actually have yet to finish the Shadow and Bone trilogy, and so I'm still debating whether I want to finish that first or whether I just want to read this one and leave that series.  Nonetheless, hopefully I can still somehow get round to this soon as everyone seems to absolutely love it so!

This is another one where there is honestly no good reason why I haven't started this yet, and so desperately need to do so soon.  Although I do not own the whole of this series, I do own the first book Cinder, and have done for a good amount of time now, so I could literally start this series any time I want to, so its honestly madness that I still have yet to.

What series' do you want to start but have yet to?  Have you read any of these - what did you think?