Top Ten Tuesday: Upcoming Anticipated Releases

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and The Bookish, where we list our top ten according to a topic of the week. Check out future topics here!

Top Ten Most Anticipated Releases I'm Dying To Read (2016)

1. Harry Potter and The Cursed Child by J.K Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany
Release Date: July 31st 2016
I am so excited for this! There are no words that can really explain how exciting it is to revisit my favourite fictional world - probably the most anticipated read I have for this year.

2. Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secret Illustrated Version by J.K Rowling and Jim Kay
Release Date: October 4th 2016
I have the first illustrated book and the drawings are so beautiful, I need to get my hands on the second one.

3. Empire of Storm (Throne of Glass #5) by Sarah J. Maas
Release Date: September 6th 2016
Finally. Finally the next part is out and whilst I'm excited I'm also super nervous because I don't know where Sarah J. Maas is going to take the series next.

4. Strange The Dreamer (Strange The Dreamer #1) by Laini Taylor
Release Date: September 27th 2016
Taylor wrote one of my favourite series and when I saw the release of her new series, I couldn't help but squeal. I'm hoping that this will be as great as Daughter of Smoke and Bone!

5. Gemina (Illuminae #2) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Release Date: October 18th 2016
Yes, yes, yes! I read Illuminae recently and fell in love with it and I'm so glad that Gemina is on the horizon.

6. Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi
Release Date: August 30th 2016
Furthermore is a retelling of Alice in Wonderland, but Mafi changes it up by introducing a new world I'm so happy to read about. What if it's a world that I'll grow to love and want to live in?! Yay!

7. The Thousandth Floor (The Thousandth Floor #1) by Katherine McGee
Release Date: August 30th 2016
Set during the year 2118, this is very similar to Gossip Girl - just 100 years later and a lot more complex - at least I hope so.

8. Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake
Release Date: September 20th 2016
Three sisters. Three heirs. Three different powers. This is going to be one intense match.

9. Night Speed by Chris Howard
Release Date: May 3rd 2016
When a girl infiltrates a group of young teenagers who are addicted to a dangerous drug, she has to take on their habits and make them trust her. This underground story is going to be one epic adventure.

10. Girl In Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow
Release Date: September 6th 2016
I feel like I can never explain this so definitely go and read the synopsis. It just feels like an influential novel to be.

What Are You Most Excited For?

Read More

Talking Personal: Living It Low Key

It's been two months since I've checked in with you guys, but since then I've actually had very low-key moments. It's now Winter here and it's super cold so I'm hoping the next there months goes by fast!

I've fully immersed myself back into AFL - or Australian Football League, for those who don't live in Australia. I am a huge footy fanatic, but after my time away from it I couldn't get back into it until now. Since April, I've attended 4 matches, 3 of which were wins and made me super happy.

Other than that, I'm now 2 months into a volunteering position I started this year. I've been volunteering for QEC, a baby health centre that aims to help parents develop skills and better their relationships with their children. I'm working more on the administration side, dealing with records and datas, which is a lot different to what I've ever done but I am learning loads and really appreciating the work the centre is doing.

In big news though, I finally finished my last semester of university, which means I've officially completed my bachelor degree!! My graduation is scheduled for next month and whilst I'm happy it's finally happening, I'm also kind of freak out because now I have to actually be an adult and figure out my life. Fingers crossed I have some sort of epiphany or something.

That's been my very mild adventures in life, only because I was focused on finishing uni and working. We've hit the mid year mark though and I'm excited to see what else 2016 will bring for me.

How Has Your Life Been?

Read More

Let's Talk: I Admit, Writing Reviews Are Hard

I'm a self-proclaimed book blogger. I don't have the credentials or education for it, and yet here I am rating books on a scale and discussing plot development, character arcs and writing style, like I'm some kind of pro.

To be frank, I find writing reviews difficult. I love it - I definitely do, but because there's no handbook or manual guide, a lot of it I just had to figure out for myself. Sometimes it's so easy. I love or hate a book and it fills me with so many emotions and intensity, that I practically word vomit on the screen before I realise I'm about to write an essay. Other times, which is quite frequent actually, I sit and mull, scratch my head and yawn, before I can decide on how I want to put what I'm thinking into words. 

The biggest struggles I find are:

1. Trying to articulate thoughts

I struggle to coherently communicate what I've thought about the book, that it becomes super frustrating. I want the review to be succinct yet, encompass everything I need to say and most of the time it never turns out that way. It's a balance I'm working on though, so fingers crossed!

2. Self-doubt

I know this sounds ridiculous but once I finish a review I start to question whether it makes sense and if what I'm saying about the book will be considered legitimate, or at the least, an opinion to trust. I write reviews as a way to discuss my feelings for a book. However, it's also so that I can provide another perspective, which might influence readers on it. I'd like to know that what I'm saying is reaching even one person out there. 

3. Time

Time is always of the essence. Sometimes because I struggle so hard to write words down, I drag on a review that should've been up ages ago. Or sometimes I hit a bump in the road and then I let go of my blog forever and it takes awhile to get back into the spin of things. Again, something I need to find the balance for, but definitely worth it. 

Writing reviews, overall, is something I enjoy immensely. It gives me a voice to the world but is also an outlet to really allow me to convey how I feel about certain books. I hope that I'm enlightening someone whilst writing review, but at the same time know that I can use this as a means of creating impact in both the young and the old to pock up a book and read it!

Check out any of my reviews here!

What Do You Like/Dislike About Writing Reviews?

Read More

The Dressmaker Is One To Enjoy In Text Or On Screen

Title: The Dressmaker 
Author: Rosalie Ham
Publication Date:
Add to Goodreads | Buy from The Book Depository

After twenty years spent mastering the art of dressmaking at couture houses in Paris, Tilly Dunnage returns to the small Australian town she was banished from as a child. She plans only to check on her ailing mother and leave. But Tilly decides to stay, and though she is still an outcast, her lush, exquisite dresses prove irresistible to the prim women of Dungatar. Through her fashion business, her friendship with Sergeant Farrat—the town’s only policeman, who harbors an unusual passion for fabrics—and a budding romance with Teddy, the local football star whose family is almost as reviled as hers, she finds a measure of grudging acceptance.

But as her dresses begin to arouse competition and envy in town, causing old resentments to surface, it becomes clear that Tilly’s mind is set on a darker design: exacting revenge on those who wronged her, in the most spectacular fashion.

Review

The Dressmaker will always be one of those novels that will stay with me, not only for its fascinating and hilarious plot but because all the eccentric and gothic feel to it. This made the novel so much more unique and very memorable. 

Watch to see more of what I thought!

Verdict: 

The Dressmaker excels as a book, but translates hilariously well on screen

Book Rating:

Read More

May Flies To An End | Monthly Wrap Up

We've finally come to the end of May and I'm getting back into stride guys - I'm so excited!

On The Blog

Top Ten Tuesday

Non-Book Sites I Like To Visit | Books I Feel Differently About Overtime | Beach Reads

The Waiting List

June releases to get excited about!

Reviews

Me, Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

The Winner's Trilogy by Marie Rutkoski

Posts For Thoughts

• Stuck in a book hangover? Paging Serenity has you covered with tips to get you out and back into another book! (P.S Check out what I do when I'm in a book hangover as well) 
• The Book Addict's Guide lists Five Books for Fantasy Newbies
• Brett Michael Or writes one of my favourite posts to read ever, addressing Negative Reviews and if they're necessary 
• Potterhead Review shares Two Ways To Plan Your Blog Posts!
• Shipping is huge in the YA community and Read At Midnight tells us why it's important to her! 
• Ever questioned "How many books do you try out from an author before giving up"? So did Nose Graze in her recent discussion post
• Stay Bookish has such a cute series on her blog, detailing what's in her bag and the book that's in it

Reading Time

I read four books, three of which I really enjoyed!

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson | 4/5

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline | 5/5 

The Lake House by Kate Morton | 4/5

A Court of Thorn and Roses (A Court of Thorn and Roses #1) by Sarah J. Maas | 3/5

Watch my thoughts on them below:

How Was May For You?

Read More