Hello everyone,

The beginning of the year always seems to be my better reading months. I feel motivated and focused and really into whatever I'm reading - it helps when you read great books! This month I read 8 books, woohoo!!! Majority of them were incredibly good, with my first read and the last read being my favourites of the month. If you want to watch the video version of my January Wrap Up, click here!
Otherwise keep reading...




BOOKS

1. Illuminae - Jay Kristoff & Amie Kaufman
I bought Illuminae almost a year ago and have just let it sit on my shelf with every means to read it but never picking it up. After talking with a couple of Bookstagram friends about it, I was easily convinced to pick it up soon. It can seem an intimidating book because it's so big but it's written in different formats where on some pages there's hardly any writing and there's lots of instant messaging and emails that you read. After the first 100 pages I was seriously addicted, it is so FREAKING GOOD and intense and written in a way I've never come across before. You 100% need to read this epic sci-fi ok? Ok.
 5/5

2. Kiss of Fire - Rebecca Ethington
I got this ebook free on Amazon (it might still be free!) and because it was on my kindle, I started reading it when I was in America. I had left it for a while and picked it back up again this month and was easily back into the story. This took a while to get into the actual interesting part of the story but I still found it easy to read and it's not a very big book. It's a fantasy YA about magical beings and there's good and evil and all that. When the main character knew what she was, I felt it wasn't explained enough and her learning the magic she has was really rushed. But overall it was still an enjoyable read and I've book two is better!
3/5

3. A Monster Calls - Patrick Ness
If you watched my December Book Haul you would have known I purchased this beautiful illustrated edition. I picked this up because the movie comes out soon and it was also a short book. I finished it really quickly and absolutely loved it. It was quite a unique story and really pulled on the heartstrings (perhaps wrenched them off?) If you want to buy this book, I strongly suggest purchasing the illustrated edition as the amazing pictures really added to the story. They're also illustrated by the same person who does the Harry Potter illustrated versions (Jim Kay).
5/5

4. Our Chemical Hearts - Krystal Sutherland
I wouldn't say I had high hopes for this one, but I'd heard it was really good from the Bookstagram community so I was thoroughly disappointed with this one. Overall, the story was kind of enjoyable though the relationship of it all was toxic and a let down. The two main characters, Henry and Grace were both interesting but it would've been better if it didn't involve one or the other as much, does that make sense? I didn't like them together in the story. I really liked Lola (one of Henry's best friends) but I also didn't like (actually - really hated) that for his other best friend who hails from Australia, the author overdid the commercial Australian thing. In parts it was meant to be some sort of joke but it was so overdone, it made me loathe anything that came out of his mouth. Also the author is Australian?! Anyways, I think this book would be better suited for a younger age group.
3/5 (maybe 2?)

5. Yellow - Megan Jacobson
Now here is an Australian author that got it done right. This is set in like the early 90's maybe?? and it was so on point with Australian culture in the story. This is about Kirra, who is going through a rough time in her life and ends up picking up a ringing phone to an old telephone box and when she answers, the person on the other end was actually murdered 20 years ago and is stuck in a sort of limbo until his murderer is caught. Interesting right? This was a phenomenal story and I highly recommend this book! The only thing that pissed me off was what happened in chapter 3, it was unnecessary.
4.5/5


6. The Diabolic - SJ Kincaid
Another sci-fi novel this month, is about a world where 'Diabolics' are created for the protection of the people who buy them. Nemesis is sent in her 'protectee's' place when she is summoned to the royal court and has to act as the royal heir she is seen to be. This book was fast paced and interesting and I enjoyed myself immensely. It was also very unpredictable and I had no idea what was going to end up happening - I had my theories and they were all wrong but in such a good way. I loved how this book ended up and I am looking forward to book two.
4.5/5

7. Sidekicks - Will Kostakis
Another YA Australian author brings you a story about three boys who all had the same best friend who died. It's told in three parts - one part for each boy, and goes through their grief process and what happens next. This was a really enjoyable read and I'm so, so glad that I finally got round to reading it. My favourite character was Harley, 'the rebel' of the story. He was such an interesting character and I enjoyed reading from his point of view. My least favourite was Miles, he wasn't very likeable but I think that was intended. Overall, a really great story and I'm looking forward to reading more from the author.
4/5


8. My Sister Rosa - Justine Larbalestier
Oh my lord. This book is insane. In the view of 17 year old Che, he and his family move around a lot and his main focus in life is keeping his sister Rosa under control. Rosa is a 10 year old psychopath and holy heck. I've never read anything like this before and it was absolutely incredible. Rosa is creepy and twisted and like no character I've read about before. It was a nice change to read from a different view to do with mental disorders. I seriously need to scope out more books like this as I may be addicted! The only downside to this story was that there was a bit of 'instalove' which I wasn't keen on, but other than that SO, SO GOOD!
4.5/5


What an incredible reading month! I hope to continue this 'incredibleness' into February before I go back to uni (YOU CAN DO THIS ERENA!).

FEBRUARY TBR

1. City of Glass - Cassandra Clare *I am trying to finish this one that I started over a year ago - oops!

2. Scarlet - Marissa Meyer *Buddy reading this one! Come join me @erenareads on IG

3. Anna Dressed in Blood - Kendare Blake

4. Gemina - Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

5. Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire - JK Rowling *This is constantly on my tbr but I'm trying to make a really dent in it this month.


And that's it! I hope you enjoyed reading about what I was reading and it inspires you to pick up one (or more) of these books. Make sure you check out my Instagram @erenareads for daily posts and chats and my YouTube channel for bookish videos and lifestyle vlogs.

See you soon!
xx


WHERE YOU CAN FIND ME:
Contact: erenabennett@hotmail.com
Instagram: @erenareads & @erena_b
Goodreads: @erenareads
Twitter: @erenareads
YouTube: Erena Reads or click here

Follow my blog with Bloglovin'!

Hello!

With not only December coming to an end but also 2016, I wanted to add more books to my total books read for the year so I managed to scrape in 5 books in December which I am extremely happy with. The previous months I wasn't reading as much because of university and I also fell into a slightly small slump. But I should also mention that the books I did read were of pretty good quality, some of them being possible favourites of the year! If you're interested I have a video version of this on my YouTube channel, click here for that. Otherwise keep reading...


DECEMBER WRAP UP

1. Falling Into Place - Amy Zhang
Last month I read my first novel from this author and thoroughly enjoyed her writing and was very keen to dive into this one. The chapters are based on the before's and after's with a girl who is in a car accident at the beginning of the book. It has multiple points of views and I didn't mind one bit. Each chapter held little bits of information that really added to the story and it made me crave each chapter and it was extremely hard to put down; this fact made me read it in about three sittings (which is reaaallly great for me!) Despite being based around high school aged characters, I loved the way it was written. Highly recommend this novel!
5/5


2. Rebel of the Sands - Alwyn Hamilton
I had seen this floating around the book community for a while, even after I bought it, so I finally started reading and this was yet another book that I didn't want to put down. Amani is eager to move out of her crappy desert town and on to better things. She meets a foreign boy who is in trouble with the law and they set out together to find whatever it is they wish to find. The story is an interesting one that has bits of fantasy and diversity in it and incredibly easy to read. I am eagerly awaiting the release of book two, Traitor to the Throne.
5/5


3. Wintergirls - Laurie Halse Anderson
This was a reread for me; I first read the book a few years ago from the library and finally purchased my own copy. This was a quick read because I once again, found it hard to put down. It follows Lia, a girl with anorexia, whose old best friend just died (who also had an eating disorder). It delves into the mind of disordered eating and how this mental illness can affect all aspects of life. You need to go into this book with an open mind, you cannot be mad at the main character when she doesn't do what she should and it may take some time for you to start to understand that mental illnesses can control the host. I shall also give it a trigger warning for those struggling with disordered eating. Nonetheless, it is one of my favourite books ever.
5/5

4. Desolation - Derek Landy
Book two in the Demon Road trilogy; I wasn't actually expecting much from this book because the first one was pretty average, but after getting through a few chapters I found myself enjoying it immensely. I felt that everything that was wrong with Demon Road was improved in this book. It had plenty of action and a good story. I've already started book three because I need to know what happens next! For a full review of Demon Road click here, and for a full review of Desolation click here.
4/5


5. American Monsters - Derek Landy
The final instalment of the Demon Road trilogy; I was eager to get to this one as I really enjoyed the previous book. This book had quite a clear storyline/plot which I felt wasn't as clear in the first two, so that was a plus. I didn't find it as interesting as Desolation but still a fun and enjoyable read for teenage and some young adult readers. There were a few events I was surprised by - both good and bad. There was one particular thing that happened where I felt it wasn't written about enough so I kind of felt cheated almost. But overall, I enjoyed this trilogy.For a full review click here.
3.5/5


JANUARY TBR

1. Illuminae - Jay Kristoff & Amy Kaufman
2. Kiss of Fire - Rebecca Ethington
3. Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire - J.K Rowling


That's all for my January TBR at the moment, no doubt I'll add more to it but I'm waiting to see what I'm in the mood for.
Be sure to check out my YouTube channel because I upload there regularly (Erena Reads or click the link below).

See you soon for more bookish posts!

x


WHERE YOU CAN FIND ME:
Contact: erenabennett@hotmail.com
Instagram: @erenareads & @erena_b
Goodreads: @erenareads
Twitter: @erenareads
YouTube: Erena Reads or click here

Follow my blog with Bloglovin'!

I'm just going to start this post right off with the amount of books I read in 2016: 47. I began my first year of university (which was incredibly stressful for me) which meant less leisurely reading, so I set my reading goal to 40 books for the year.