Tuesday 30 January 2018

Books I Read in January


It's the end of the first month of 2018

And I read a lot of books

Let's jump right in...we have much to discuss...

Tuesday 23 January 2018

Books I Can't Remember Much About


As always, I'm linking this post up with Top Ten Tuesday over at That Artsy Reader Girl (previously at The Broke and the Bookish)

I read a lot of book, and unlike Sherlock Holmes I do NOT have a mind palace. 

not me 

So it's only logical that some of the books I read don't stick around too clearly in the old brain for long, which is a shame except for the frightfully bad books in which case good riddance and plague me no longer!

Today's post is all about the books that got away. The ones that I look at and think....

what happened in your pages? I read you, I spent hours on you...I should know...but I don't

Let's get started...



This first one shames me for many reasons - not least because I only read it about a month ago!! In my defence, my mind is like a sieve and only keeps the big golden nuggets inside it...this one seems to have slipped through the holes. I loved Stalking Jack the Ripper...but this second instalment fell a little flat for me - so much so that I can't even remember what happened save for a few little details. Everyone loves this though! And I'm like...

why? what did I miss that everyone else got?

I still want to read the next book in the series - Escaping Houdini (which btw the cover was just revealed for and it is FREAKING BEAUTIFUL), so I will probably re-read this before that one and maybe pay attention this time I don't know. 


It's been a long time since I read these - I'm talking pre-motherhood which honestly feels like a different era altogether - so one could forgive me for forgetting them. I remember a few little things about Wither...next to nothing about Fever...and I honestly don't even know if I read Sever. I'm at war with myself I just can't recall it!! I stand by the fact that these are some of my favourite book covers EVER...but I can't say the same for the stories inside.

Also - I'm not entirely convinced it's the same girl on any of those covers?? 

Now then...
you may be wondering why Divergent isn't up here with it's siblings - and that's because I LOVED Divergent!! I have the BEST memories of reading that book (the movie too just blew me away)...but the rest of the series was 


I remember about 3.5 things from Insurgent, and apart from THAT ENDING in Allegiant...it's pretty much tabula rasa for that one. The movies followed suit too with the last ones dive-bombing with their book counterparts. 


I was so excited to read this book because it deals with a school shooting and I was interested to see how it was done...

and I still can't tell you how it was done.

The cover is striking...but the story was meh. I can remember the beginning...and that's it. No events. No character names. No ending. It all evades me.

And I'm not even sad about it. 



I still have so much guilt about this series. I binge-read the first two books and loved them...then waited over a year before reading the last one. Who even does that? 


I was so confused throughout the entire book that I think my mind drew a veil over it to protect me. A.G Howard gets the most amazing covers for her books, and I will forever love this series because pretty - but if you want to know how it all ended...ask someone else, I'm not your guy.


This is one of those books that I'm glad it fell out my brain. I didn't even try and catch it. I hated this book. It was weird...and not in a good way. I had no clue what was going on, the romance was terrible...and I glazed over for the last two-thirds of the entire thing. Nope. I don't remember you, and I like it that way thank you. 


Again...this series isn't even welcome in my memories. The first book was okay, and I remember bits and bobs of it....the second book was like pulling teeth out one by one...re-attaching them and pulling them back out again. It was painful. I remember nothing of the plot, only the pain...and it goes without saying that I never picked up the third book in the series. 


This book was not bad. Let me repeat...

THIS BOOK WAS NOT BAD

In fact...this series is fantastic and these books are great. I was completely drawn into The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and immediately dived into this second book - but it was sooooo different that I was left a little confused. These books are so intricate....especially this one, and it's not the easiest to follow. I don't remember much of the plot (or ending), but I DO KNOW that I wanted to finish the series....so it can't have been bad...but I never actually did...so it can't have knocked my socks of either. Maybe I'll re-read this someday. 


According to Goodreads - I've read this book....

But I'm looking at it...and I'm reading the synopsis....and...

not. a. clue. mate. 


If I DID read this...it obviously went in one eyeball and out the other because not a fragment remains. 


I actually remember more of this book than I would ever care too. I WANT to forget it. I've served it an eviction notice but it's still hanging around. The Heir was a massive disappointment to me (having loved the Selection series as the ultimate guilty-pleasure read)...and it still makes me angry thinking of the self-entitled unlikeable little brat that is the main character. I don't remember much else...and I'm glad. Just think of the brain space I would have if I didn't remember this book. Think of the things I would fill it with.

Cake recipes.
More Hamilton lyrics.
How to train your cat. 

The list of things I would rather remember than this book is endless

So many hours spent on books that could've been spent on researching world domination and/or Mary Berry food photos. 

So much bookish information not retained. 

Ah well....what was I talking about? 

What books have you read and remember nothing about?
Do you ever wonder if it was even you reading them?
Do you feel like it's time wasted?
Talk to me












Friday 19 January 2018

Using Pinterest for Writing Inspiration


Like a lot of writers, I use pictures as inspiration to help my tired little mind when writing. Sometimes just one image can trigger an entire scene, give you an idea about a character, or help you get the clothing right. Through a picture, you can view places you've never been to, sit in vehicles you've never been in, and gaze at food you will never eat. 

Keeping all this in mind...where else would one go in the pursuit of inspirational pictures than...

PINTEREST!! The Holy Land of Images. The Mecca of Photos.

If you don't have a Pinterest account yet I entirely recommend that you get one....and then prepare to lose hours of your life cycling through photos you never knew you needed to see. 

As I've said before, the pictures I use for inspiration on Pinterest very rarely represent EXACT characters, scenes, or moments in my book. All of those things come from my own mind
and what a scary place that is. 

No - I use Pinterest more for aesthetic reasons. I love collecting pictures and photos of all kinds of things related to my book, so when you view them you can get a sense of the overall tone that I'm going for. Scrolling through my Prince of Blades board is like getting a tiny slice of the pie... but it is only a sample piece that is nowhere near as big or juicy as the rest of the pie. 

What I'm essentially saying is my book is a pie and I want you to eat it. 

So for my writing post today I just wanted to share some of my inspiration pictures for Prince of Blades. You can of course view ALL OF THE DELICIOUSNESS on my full Prince of Blades Pinterest Board, but here are a few to tide you over. 

(Also....I won't really be featuring many character inspiration pictures....I already did that over on THIS POST...this will be mainly settings, scenes and costumes etc) 

Tuesday 16 January 2018

2018 Reading Goals


I'm linking this post up with Top Ten Tuesday over at That Artsy Reader Girl (previously at The Broke and the Bookish) because it's a list and who doesn't love lists? They're just so aesthetically pleasing.

For today, I'm doing that thing people do at the start of the year -
setting unrealistic goals and putting unnecessary pressure on myself for the year ahead so I can crash and burn with my targets around me and roll into the next year feeling like a complete and utter failure -
I'm feeling optimistic about my reading for 2018 and I want to manifest that into a series of little goals that I will most definitely accomplish! 


So without further ado, here are all of my 2018 bookish resolutions...

Friday 12 January 2018

My Writing History


Like most writers, I can say that I have always had an interest in writing in some capacity. As far back as I can remember I have been drawn to creating stories. Lainey Kress put up THIS BLOGPOST a while ago talking all about herself as a teenage writer, and her origins with writing as a hobby and possible career path. The post made me want to look back on my own journey as a writer. I wanted to take a little trip down my literary memory lane, and I wanted to bring you along with me. 

And so....

Lauren Carroll....