January Wrap Up

 This month I feel like I successfully reached my goal of reading about 3 books a month and have gotten this year's reading challenge off to a good start. I hope I can continue in this way and reach my book goal or even pass it. Here's a little wrap up of what I have achieved in January.

Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone by J. K. Rowling

I started the year by rereading the first Harry Potter book and I loved it. I even made myself a Pottermore account so that I could interact with each chapter and every bit of the story. J. K Rowling's writing is so easy to read and this series is so well thought out it was hard to put the book down. I ended up starting and finishing this book within a week.

A Book That Became A Movie

A Book By A Female Author

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

I read this book during the second week of January and it helped to make the feeling of Christmas linger for a little bit longer. I liked the way that this story was written from two point of views, Dash and Lily's, and the fact that their personalities were so different from each others. It was obvious from the start they were either going to get along really well or just clash with each other.

A Book Set During Christmas

My True Love Gave To Me Edited by Stephanie Perkins

I decided to review the stories in this book individually and I'm glad I did so because some were amazing and made me want to read more of the different author's works, where as others didn't. I posted all my reviews on this blog so feel free to check them out. Also, please comment telling me what you thought of the different stories as I would love to hear other people's opinions.

A Book Of Short Stories

A Book Set During Christmas

The Iron Trials by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

I continued to read this book in the third week of January but due to having deadlines and other work I needed to do I haven't yet gotten to the end. I aim to have this book finished in February. So far, I am quite enjoying this book and Call's character is written with a hint of humor behind him which makes him fun to read about.

A Book From An Author You Love But Haven't Read Yet

A Book You Started But Never Finished

Review - My True Love Gave To Me by Various Authors, Part 4

Here it is, the last 3 reviews for My True Love Gave To Me. Quite a few of these stories were written by authors I'd never heard of before and they have inspired me to read more of the authors work. I've sincerely enjoyed most of the stories in this book and will certainly read them again when Christmas time rolls around at the end of this year.

*This review contains spoilers*

Welcome to Christmas, CA by Kiersten White

Oh, oh, the feels! This is one of my favorite stories in this book. It totally captures the heart of Christmas (the holiday) in such a powerful way for me that I ended up reminiscing about the Christmases I've had with my family. The importance of the food for starters and the way Ben tries to bring a little Christmas cheer from the food he serves the customers of the diner makes me think of the food my mum cooks over the Christmas period. It's only been just after a month since Christmas but how I crave my mum's food! The story itself has it's own unique Christmas feel to it in the way that Maria feels like her mother and Rick don't really care about her but then it turns out that everything they've done is to save up money to send Maria to college and give her a better life than they had. It really opens our eyes to what our families do for us and shows how much they love us. Maria's character development was evident and clear all the way through the story. She starts off hating Christmas, CA (The "census-designated place") and as the story progresses she starts to like it more and more there. I'm sure Ben's presence at her mother's diner had quite a bit to do with that but also the realization that she was thoroughly loved may have helped too. Overall, I think it's fair to say I loved this story and Kiersten White is at the top of my list of authors to check out this year.

"It doesn't matter anymore if you can't find my home.
I found it for myself." - Maria

Rating :- ★★★★★

Star of Bethlehem by Ally Carter



I can't even put into words how good this story was but I shall try. The way this story was written was cleverly done. We get given little bits of information about the main character, Lydia, throughout the story which helps to build the story up to the big reveal of who Lydia really is. I felt like I couldn't stop reading, I had to know who this girl was that so kindly gave Hulda her ticket to New York so that she could escape from something and I had to find out what that something was. This story actually had me laughing at the funny bits and tearing up at the sad bits which, personally, if a story can bring out my emotions whilst I'm reading it then it must be a pretty good story! In the end, I was pleasantly surprised by this story. It was well thought out and I wished there was more to it so that I knew what happened afterwards.

"I'm staying"
"No more running" - Lydia

Rating :- ★★★★★

The Girl Who Woke the Dreamer by Laini Taylor



This story didn't hook me like the two above did, though I still enjoyed it. I found the idea of the "Dreamer" to be unique and even though he wasn't physically in much of the story his presence was still felt. What struck me about Neve's character was how she'd given up on hope but hadn't given up on herself. I'm glad that Neve stuck to what she believed in, even though refusing to be the Reverend's fourth wife would mean she'd be very poor. The Reverend himself is a vile man, he doesn't know how to take no for an answer and is controlling. I'm glad that in the end Neve got what she wanted, to escape from the life she was living, to a better version of life.

"I will free you, and I will lift you. I will learn a thousand ways to make you laugh. Your smiles will be the honey in my mead, your enchantment my delight." - The Dreamer

Rating:- ★★★

Afterword

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. There were a lot of stories that had me hooked and I'm so glad I decided to read and review it. The illustrations used at the start of each story in this book, drawn by Jim Tierney, were beautiful and I feel that they really highlighted the essence of the stories.

Happy Reading
:)
xx

Review - My True Love Gave To Me by Various Authors, Part 3

*This review contains spoilers*

Due to being extremely busy last week trying to get my work done ready for my hand in on Friday, I didn't read much. I have decided to split this review into four parts instead of three and post one today and one on Thursday.

What The Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth? by Gayle Forman



This story felt a little slow to me. It was mostly based on a girl who had moved from Brooklyn to what she called the "University of Nowhere" which was basically in the country side. There was a little build up about what happened with her up to Christmas then the main part of the story is based around one of the nights where she decided to go caroling. Basically, she found the caroling to be a bit boring and ended up talking to, then spending most of the night with Russell, a guy she met at the carol service. They end up talking and getting to know each other quite well. I didn't feel like these characters had much depth to them though, but that's just my personal feelings.

"To perfect fits" - Russell

Rating :- ★★★

Beer Buckets and Baby Jesus by Myra McEntire

I really enjoyed this story. This is the first story I've read by Myra McEntire and it didn't disappoint me. I found it clever the way Myra McEntire used the traditional nativity idea and put her own spin on it. Most of this story follows Vaughn as he messes up the Main Street Methodist's nativity play then helps them to fix it. In doing so, he manages to get closer to the Pastor's Daughter, Gracie, who he's had a crush on for a while. The way this story was written was humorous and the characters were interesting. From my point of view, I felt that Vaughn's character developed a lot within this story. He went from being a practical joker to being slightly more mature.

"I was glad she wasn't holding my hand. My palms were a rain forest." - Vaughn

Rating :- ★★★★★

Happy Reading
:)
xx

Review - My True Love Gave To Me by Various Authors, Part 2

*This review contains spoilers*

Here is Part 2 of the My True Love Gave To Me review. I have decided to do these reviews in three separate parts because otherwise this post would end up being really long.

It's A Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown by Stephanie Perkins

This was another story that I thoroughly enjoyed. It drew me in from the first page because it was so well-written. I felt that this story worked well as a 35 paged short story because there was still some character development involved. There was also a lot of information revealed in a clever way through Marigold's and North's conversations with each other. The setting of the Christmas tree lot gave the story a warm yet wintry feeling. I thought it was cute that Marigold found North's voice intriguing and wanted to use it for her project. This then unfolded to them getting to know each other quite well and realizing that they weren't that different from each other.

"I've always felt lucky to live someplace where snow is rare, you know? It's the rareness that makes it so special." - North

Rating :- ★★★★

Your Temporary Santa by David Levithan



Personally, I thought this story was alright. but not fantastic. It was mostly written from the unnamed protagonist's thoughts which I found interesting. It seems the protagonist was having a bit of a conflict in his head about whether or not he belonged with Connor and his family. It also touched on the idea that a relationship can be kind of easy, as in sometimes it is enough just to be able to hold hands or cuddle that special someone. I got the feeling that the protagonist deeply cared about his boyfriend, Connor, from the fact he dressed up as Santa to surprise Connor's little sister, Riley and to help keep that spark that Santa exists alive for her.

"Our world within this world."

Rating :- ★★★

Krampuslauf by Holly Black

Oh, Holly Black, I love how your mind works! First of all, I'd never even heard of Krampuslauf until I read this story so it was quite nice to read about something different which still had a Christmas element to it. Secondly, I was quite surprised at first that there was no mythological/fantasy element to this story seeing as I know Holly Black is well known for writing stories about mythological/fantasy creatures. After getting to near the end though, that changed when it was revealed that the Krampus was real instead of a boy in a costume. Another element that I enjoyed about this story is that the characters were written in such a way that their different personalities reflected through their speech.

"Maybe it was okay to imagine greater things." - Hanna

Rating :- ★★★★★

Happy Reading
:)
xx

Review - My True Love Gave To Me by Various Authors, Part 1

*This review contains spoilers*

I decided to do this review in 3 parts because I have reviewed each story separately and I didn't want this post to be too long.

Midnights by Rainbow Rowell

I think it's fair to say that Rainbow Rowell is becoming one of my favorite authors. I loved this story, the way it was written and the characters are amazing! Rainbow Rowell seems to excel at simple romantic stories and this one is no different. From the beginning it captivated me and every time another girl sauntered up to Noel around midnight in the story I felt sorry for Mags. Their friendship is so cute and it made me smile whenever Noel was being over dramatic by saying that Mags saved his life. I really wanted it to be Mags that Noel kissed at the stroke of midnight. Even though this story was only 24 pages long, Rowell still managed to develop her characters effectively. This story was an excellent way to start off this anthology I just wished there was more to it.

"I can't get close enough" - Noel

Rating :- ★★★★★

The Lady and the Fox by Kelly Link

I don't like giving bad reviews but sometimes I just have to. This story had a slow start and a long build up to what I felt was an average ending. For most of this story I was quite confused as to what was happening. It didn't grip me the way I was hoping it would and I didn't enjoy it. In the end I just ended up skimming through the pages just to finish it. I guess there was a little character development within the story. Overall, this story wasn't for me personally.

Rating :- ★

Angels in the Snow by Matt de la Peña



This is the first time I've read a story by Matt de la Peña and I really enjoyed his writing style. I found it interesting that this story was written from a guys point of view because most of the books I read are either from a girls point of view or are written in third person. I was drawn in by the way it was written in first person which helped me to enjoy the story a lot more. The story itself was great, it definitely pulled at my heartstrings. I really felt sorry for Shy and the fact he didn't have any money to buy himself food which is a basic necessity. Nobody should go hungry, especially at Christmas time. I'm so glad Haley made sure he had something to eat after she found out he was starving. I'm definitely going to check out more of Matt de la Peña's books.

"There's no way I'm going to let you starve down there on Christmas Eve" - Haley

Rating :-  ★★★★

Polaris Is Where You'll Find Me by Jenny Han

This was an interesting story told from a different perspective. I like the way Jenny Han used the idea of  the North Pole and elves then added the idea of an adopted human girl in to the mix. It made this story unique. At first I felt this story was a little like Elf, the 2003 film but then it took on a totally different direction and I ended up really enjoying reading it. I thought it was sweet that Flynn found Lars' address for Natalie. It seemed to me that he was trying to protect Natalie and do what he thought would be right for her. I also got the feeling that Flynn liked her as more than a friend but because he's an elf and she's a human he probably thought it best that Natalie should be with another human. I wished there was more to this story, the way it's been written has me thirsty for more!

"You aren't the one I'm worried about getting hurt" - Flynn

Rating :- ★★★★

Happy Reading
:)
xx

January TBR (To Be Read)

To help me complete my Goodreads goal of reading 36 books in 2015 I have decided to set myself a monthly TRB list.

My January TBR picks are :-

My True Love Gave To Me by Various Authors



I started this book near the end of December and only read 3 of the stories within it so I'd like to finish this book. I'm quite enjoying reading these short stories.

Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone by J.K. Rowling

Along with reading this book, I'm also going to use Pottermore to find out more about the World of Harry Potter. I'm planning to do this for all of the Harry Potter stories.

Dash & Lily's Book Of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

I kept meaning to get round to reading this book in December but didn't manage to so I decided that I would read it in January instead.

The Iron Trial by Cassandra Clare and Holly Black



I started reading this book in November last year and never got round to finishing it so I decided this would be the perfect time to do so.

Happy Reading

:)

xx