July 2015 Wrap Up

The books I read in July (in order read):

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Rating: 3/5

The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden by Jessica Sorensen

Rating: 2/5

Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill

Rating: 2.5/5

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare (re-read)

Rating: 5/5

Life With A Sprinkle Of Glitter by Louise Pentland [my review here]

Rating: 4/5

So, I only managed two of the book from my holiday TBR list... Oops.

Before I went on holiday I read The Raven Boys and The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden. There was so much hype about The Raven Boys that I thought I was sure to love it but unfortunately it was not to be. I didn't find myself really connecting with the characters or the storyline. However, it was still an interesting read so I gave it 3 stars. As with most first books from the beginning of a series that I'm not entirely sure about, the next book in this series will probably make or break the series for me. I had even less luck with The Coincidence of Callie & Kayden. I know a lot of people love this book but it just wasn't my kind of thing at all.

Then, when I was on holiday I read Meant to Be, City of Ashes and Life With A Sprinkle Of Glitter. Meant to Be had so much potential at the start. There were so many quoteable, bookish lines and it had me laughing out loud a lot but unfortunately the book fell prey to a lot of typical YA downfalls later on. I did really enjoy Lauren Morrill's writing though so I've not been put off reading another of her books. Then, after finishing City of Ashes for the #tmireadathon, I read Life With A Sprinkle Of Glitter. I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It's all about positivity, happiness and kindness which I am 100% for! I believe Louise has another book coming out soon which I will definitely be buying as soon as it's available.

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

Currently reading: Landline by Rainbow Rowell

Currently listening to: Champagne by TVXQ!

BookTube-A-Thon 2015 TBR List

BookTube-A-Thon. It's that time again! If you've not heard of BookTube-A-Thon before it's basically a yearly reading marathon which takes place over the course of one week where there are seven bookish challenges to be completed. You can complete as many or as little of the challenges as you like - it's basically just a fun week of reading! If you've not seen this year's challenge video you can watch it here where all of the challenges and rules are explained.

Last year was the first year I attempted BookTube-A-Thon and I managed to complete three books. This year however, I've been a bit more savvy with my book choices (thin books FTW) as I'm hoping to complete all seven challenges and read all seven books despite not having that much free time next week! I have to admit I did do a last minute Amazon haul for most of these books as I didn't have many small books left on my TBR shelf... Sorry bank account.

Here are the books I'm hoping to read for each challenge:

Challenge 1: Read a book with blue on the cover

Book: A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess 

Challenge 2: Read a book by an author who shares the same first letter of your last name

Book: Woman Much Missed by Thomas Hardy

Challenge 3: Read someone else's favourite book

Book: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Challenge 4: Read the last book you acquired

Book: Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them by J.K. Rowling

Challenge 5: Finish a book without letting go of it

Book: Very Good Lives by J.K. Rowling

Challenge 6: Read a book you really want to read

Book: Landline by Rainbow Rowell

Challenge 7: Read seven books

Book: The Beautifull Cassandra by Jane Austen

It starts tomorrow - Monday - so if you haven't chosen your books yet you still have time. And if you are taking part - good luck!

Currently reading: Jane Austen Cover To Cover by Margaret C. Sullivan

Currently drinking: Pineapple and Vanilla Tea by Charbrew

Currently listening to: I'm A Hotshot by Hotshot

Review: Life With A Sprinkle Of Glitter by Louise Pentland

Title: Life With A Sprinkle Of  Glitter

Author: Louise Pentland

Series: n/a

Format: Hardback (paid for myself)

Rating: 4/5

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Goodreads description: Imagine you are in one of those glorious vintage shops where every surface is laden with treasure. Cut glass, pill boxes, old cameras, pendants, chests of drawers and stacks and stacks of books. This book is like that. Each chapter is one of those gem encrusted tins that you can open, peep inside and enjoy. You can either methodically wander the entire shop, looking at each individual item in order, or, you can dance around with wild abandon, opening and closing whatever you like, whenever you like. You can take in tiny bits of it at a time or you can devour it all in one go. I don't mind. I don't mind how you go about it; all that matters to me is that you take something from it. Divided into four sections: Glitz, Create, Need to Knows and All About Love, you'll find all my little tips and tricks, stories and insights and nuggets of advice. I want you to walk away from this book feeling uplifted. I want you to feel as though you are equipped to deal with something in your life and deal with it in the best possible, positive way. I want to show you how I find so much joy and enrichment in my life and how you can do it too, with just a Sprinkle of Glitter

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My review: Life With A Sprinkle Of Glitter is like an all-round guide to life by YouTuber Louise Pentland, a.k.a. Sprinkleofglitter. I don't think I've actually seen more than three of Louise's YouTube videos in the past as I only really use YouTube to watch music videos, but I've heard of her from around Twitter and when I came across her book the other day, the blurb sounded so positive and lovely so I thought I'd give it a try.

Life With A Sprinkle Of Glitter is divided up into sections on different areas of life such as body confidence and travelling tips. Louise's writing is so down-to-earth, friendly and at times, hilarious. I found myself giggling over her dating disasters and relating to embarrassments. Although the book covers a wide-range of areas from bullying to baby care tips, I think this book would be more suitable for a teenage audience - I personally found a lot of the advice to be a bit self-explanatory (I'm 23) but I'm sure as a teenager I would have found these tips very useful. So if you're looking for a gift for a teenager in your life, this could be a very good choice!

The book also gets an extra star for it's b-e-a-utiful presentation (I'm pretty much a magpie). From it's glossy pages, gorgeous endpapers and bright pink ribbon marker - this book is dazzling from cover to cover. A lot of thought has clearly gone into the presentation of this book which makes it that much more enjoyable to read.

I also wanted to address some criticism I've seen online about Louise's position as a YouTuber in her ability to be giving advice. I think that misses the point of this book. The author isn't claiming to be an expert on life, but just someone who has already been through a lot and wants to pass on her advice to help younger people make better and more informed decisions.  To me personally it very much reads as an older sister giving her younger sisters advice.

Again, like Zoella's Girl Online, I think I'm outside the target market for this book but I still very much enjoyed reading it. I'm all for any book that promotes positivity, happiness and self-confidence.

Currently reading: Jane Austen Cover To Cover by Margaret C. Sullivan

Currently drinking: Strawberry and Kiwi Tea by Charbrew

Currently listening to: Devil by Super Junior

Behind The Username Book Tag

The lovely Nazy over at Snazzy Reads tagged me to do the Behind The Username Book Tag, created by Daniel from The Blogger's Bookshop. You can see Nazy's post here and Daniel's original post on the tag here. The rules are explained on Daniel's post but basically this tag is all about your bookish username. I'm not going to tag anyone because I'm not sure who to tag but if you'd like to take part feel free to use me as your tagger!

Username:

Tea avec Books

Reason behind the username:
My username is a combination of three of my favourite things: tea, books and all things Parisian - hence why I used the French word 'avec' in place of 'with'!

Number of letters in username:

12

Book number 12 on my shelf:
As my physical bookshelves are organised into read and unread books, I've used my 'all' shelf from Goodreads for this which is: A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall.

Have I read it?
Yes! I read it last month. It was a very cute, quick and fluffy read.

Username acrostics:

I tried to only use books that I've read for this list which was possible for all letters except K! The Kiss of Deception is still waiting patiently on my TBR list for me to get to it.

______________________T - Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini
______________________E - Eragon by Christopher Paolini
______________________A - Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
______________________A - Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
______________________V - Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
______________________E - Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
______________________C - Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
______________________B - Blind Beauty by K.M. Peyton
______________________O - On The Fence by Kasie West
___________________+__O - Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout
______________________K - (The) Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson
______________________S - Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Currently reading: Life With A Sprinkle Of Glitter by Louise Pentland

Currently drinking: Strawberry and Lime Tea by Charbrew

Currently listening to: Bad by Infinite

The Books On My Holiday TBR List

Meant To Be by Lauren Morrill

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee

I'm going away for two weeks tomorrow to visit my boyfriend, then stay with my sister and finally spend a week with my family in the countryside,* so I've gathered together a collection of books to read whilst I'm away. I don't expect to get through all of these but I'm not sure what I'll fancy reading so I've packed a range of choices!

Of these books, I'd definitely like to finish City of Ashes. I started it a couple of weeks ago for the second month of the #tmireadathon on twitter but I haven't got round to finishing it yet. I also jumped right on the Go Set A Watchman bandwagon this month even though I've never read To Kill A Mockingbird so I picked up this beautiful clothbound edition of To Kill A Mockingbird so I can read them both together.

I also recently started reading Meant To Be and A Court of Thorns and Roses so I've bought them along to finish. I have to admit I didn't really have any expectations of Meant To Be but it's made me laugh so much so far! The main character is also a huge book nerd and there are lots of relatable bookish quotes in it so I'm looking forward to finishing it!

Finally, I'm also bringing along The Lord of the Rings. One of my bookish resolutions for 2015 is to finish LOTR and for some reason I tend to have an urge to read fantasy books when we're on holiday in the countryside (perhaps I feel like I'm having my own Hobbit-y adventure?!). Hopefully it'll satisfy that craving!

Have you read any of these books? Which ones would you recommend?

Currently reading: Meant To Be by Lauren Morrill

Currently listening to: Video Game by Boys Republic

*Although holidaying in the countryside sounds very posh, we essentially camp out in an old army cabin in the middle of a field for a few weeks over the year! Oh so glamorous dahhhling ;)

June 2015 Book Haul

Physical books:

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout
I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella

A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
The 100: Homecoming by Kass Morgan

Fire Colour One by Jenny Valentine *

The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden by Jessica Sorensen

The Secret of Ella and Micha by Jessica Sorensen

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
Pride and Prejudice (Jack Wills x Penguin edition) by Jane Austen
St Pancras Station by Simon Bradkey
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Meant To Be by Lauren Morrill

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

Kindle books:

On The Fence by Kasie West

Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson

Oh. My. Gosh. Where to begin this month's haul?! As you can see, my bookshelves gained a lot of books in June. I wanted some YA standalones to read so I went on a bit of a spree for those but I don't know what happened after that!

I'm really looking forward to reading Red Queen, A Court of Thorns and Roses and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell in particular. I've only read the first book in Sarah J. Maas's other series, Throne of Glass but I really enjoyed her writing so I'm looking forward to trying this new series. I also really want to get to Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell soon as I've been loving the television show. The only thing is this book is absolutely massive - so huge that you could probably knock someone out with it - so I don't think I'll be able to take it with me on holiday when I go in a few weeks!

I also came across these awesome early UK editions of City of Bones and City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare so naturally, I had to buy them (you can see the front covers here)! I've now got three different editions of City of Bones but with the beautiful new UK editions that came out recently, plus the new TV show launching next year... I think I'll be adding to my Shadowhunter collection again shortly!

Have you read any of these books? Which books would you most recommend?

Currently reading: City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare (re-read)

Currently drinking: Nutty Chocolate Flavour Assam by Twinings

Currently listening to: What U by Speed

* I received Fire Colour One from Maximum Pop! Books to review

June 2015 Wrap Up

Books I read in June (in order read):

Far From The Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

Rating: 5/5

On The Fence by Kasie West

Rating: 3.5/5

A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall

Rating: 3/5

Fire Colour One by Jenny Valentine [my review here]

Rating: 4/5

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (re-read)

Rating: 5/5

June was the first full month of my summer break from University so it was lovely to get back into reading properly again. The first book I read this month was Far From The Madding Crowd. I went to see the film adaptation with Carey Mulligan and Matthias Schoenaerts at the end of May and I fell in love with the story immediately so I went out and bought a copy of the book to read before I went to see the film again (I really do love that film!). I really enjoyed the book. I love the characters, Hardy's Wessex... I just love everything. I can definitely see this becoming one of those books that I will re-read over and over.

I also read On The Fence by Kasie West and A Little Something Different by Jenny Valentine. These were both great summer reads as they were cute, fluffy, quick reads. I don't think I'd re-read either of these but they were enjoyable stories so if you're looking for some cute, quick reads to add to your summer reading list then I'd definitely recommend these two.

I was also kindly sent Fire Colour One to review by Maximum Pop! Books. I didn't really know what to expect from this book as I've not read any of Jenny Valentine's books before but I was very pleasantly surprised by Fire Colour One. It's very different to anything I've read before which was nice to encounter!

Finally I re-read City of Bones for the #tmireadathon on twitter. It was so lovely to be in the Shadowhunter world again; I forgot how much I loved these books. I'm really looking forward to carrying on the series with City of Ashes in July now.

What did you read in June? Have you read any of these books?

Currently reading: Nothing at the moment!

Currently drinking: Blueberry White Iced Tea by AriZona

Currently listening to: Dope by BTS