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
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YouTube: Erena Reads or click here

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Hello everyone, today I am here writing to you on my iPad! I had been thinking about getting one for a while now and decided to 'just do it' about a week ago. It's just the regular iPad mini but after using it I wish I had got the iPad 2 mini. Mainly because I have an iPhone 6 and it's brilliant and the the regular iPad is a step back in greatness (and speed). Nonetheless, I am loving it and am very happy with my purchase.

So in a previous post I had mentioned wanting to being more active on my blog and this post will mark three in the month of January - woohoo! I don't want to commit to a certain number of posts a month, I just want to try my best in being active. I'm thinking of doing smaller posts such as 'What I Eat in a Day' (with pictures of course) and perhaps a couple of other day to day activities or thoughts where I can fill in the gaps in between the 'bigger' posts.

Alright, let me get back on track.
In 2013, I started watching Zoella on YouTube and when it came round to her Christmas vlogs - Vlogmas - I absoloutely loved watching her open her different advent calendars. The two I was most interested in were the Benefit calendar and The Body Shop calendar and I could not find either of these two in stores at all. I soon let it go and lived my excitement through Zoella's vlogs.
When I was in Melbourne CBD at the end of November I decided to browse through the Benefit counter in the Myer store (fun fact: Myer Melbourne CBD has the biggest Benefit counter in the world). I came across the Benefit advent calendar!!! Excited was an understatement - though I had to think about it after I knew the price of it: $149.00 AUD. I had to quickly justify the purchase - I wanted one...? And I had never bought or even tried any of the Benefit products before, so I got it! I had to wait four days until I could open it (I guess I can open it whenever I want but let's be traditional here!)

Here's what I got...
*All pictures are from my Instagram taken on an iPhone 6.










Overall, I'm fairly happy with the products that I got. Though I really couldn't believe that they would put three hair ties and three stationary items in here as well. Maybe around three would have been more acceptable. If you're all about value then I wouldn't get this however, if you have never tried any Benefit products (or very little) and you want to then I would definitely consider getting this in the future. It has a really good range of products in here that I love using. I won't be purchasing this in the future as I obviously don't need to - and I'm keeping my eye out for The Body Shop Advent Calendar for December this year!

My favourites are: The Porefessional, Watt's Up Highlighter, Stay Don't Stray Eye Primer, High Beam Highlighter and the Stay Flawless 15 Hour Primer. I haven't opened up either of the mascaras as I want to finish my current ones, but I am really looking forward to the They're Real Mascara as I've many great things about this one.
I also haven't used all the products yet, but definitely will as time goes on.

Hopefully this has helped you if you've been tossing up whether or not to get this advent calendar.
See you next time!

xx


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