Top Ten Tuesday #203

Hi everyone! I hope you’ve all had good weeks since I last did one of these, last week began rather uneventfully for me, but then I passed my driving theory test and met Victoria Schwab again all in the space of two days, so it ended pretty well. I’ve also finished my project, and started writing my reflective essay, so they end for this semester is nearly in sight, thank goodness!

Anyway, since it’s Tuesday, I’m back with another Top Ten Tuesday, courtesy of Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl. This week we’re doing another of our annual TBR topics, our Spring TBR. I did reasonably well on my Spring TBR, I’ve read seven of the books on there fully & finished half of a third. I’m still not done with Kingdom of Ash, at this point I honestly don’t think I’ll ever be done with Kingdom of Ash and the other book on my TBR had it’s release date pushed back to December, so that one really isn’t on me. Still I’m really pleased I did so well on my Winter TBR because I’ve been ridiculously busy doing my project so spending any time at all reading has been difficult.

Anyway enough about my Winter TBR, this is what I’m planning on reading this Spring:

1. Becoming-Michelle Obama

This is my current read and I’m actually really enjoying it-I don’t mean to sound surprised there, I love Michelle Obama, it’s more a case of I don’t usually read non-fiction so I’m not used to sitting and enjoying a memoir! It’s been a nice change of pace for me though, I love fiction but occasionally you need a break.

2. Catwoman: Soulstealer-Sarah J Maas

This is my April #RockMyTBR challenge book. I have to admit I’m a little apprehensive of this one since superheros aren’t really my thing, but since it’s Sarah J Maas, I am willing to give it a shot. At least this is one Sarah J Maas book that isn’t a huge mammoth so it should take me a normal person length of time to finish! (*side eyes Kingdom of Ash*)

3. A Girl Called Shameless-Laura Steven

I just got this one as a giveaway prize and I’m super excited to dive in, I really want to see where Izzy O’Neill’s adventures go next. I’m probably going to be reading this after my project’s been submitted and I think after three months of project work, a good, funny, short read is probably just what I need.

4. Descendant of The Crane-Joan He

I’m about halfway through this one, I’ve actually been reading it since the beginning of the month and it was on my Winter TBR. I’m in two minds about this one, I love the Chinese inspired world and the characters, but I was kind of expecting it to have more magic and it’s a lot of dense political manoeuvrings which aren’t really my thing.

5. Uprooted-Naomi Novik

This will be my May #RockMyTBR book. I’m again a little apprehensive because I didn’t finish Spinning Silver, but I’m hoping that I will enjoy this one more, especially since I’ve heard nothing but good things about it.

6. Finale-Stephanie Garber

AGHH I’M SO EXCITED FOR THIS BOOK! My friend and I went in on the Fairyloot box together, but she’s keeping the book as I had already preordered the signed Waterstones edition. Anyway, I can’t wait to see how Tella and Scarlett’s journey ends and whether they manage to defeat Legend once and for all.

7. We Are Blood and Thunder-Kesia Lupo

I’ll admit I don’t actually know all that much about We Are Blood and Thunder but I’ve been hearing good things from other bloggers, so I’m willing to give it a chance-all I really know is that it’s set in a world where magic is feared and that usually works out pretty well as a storyline for me, so hopefully I will enjoy it!

8. King of Fools-Amanda Foody

I just got accepted for this on Netgalley and I’m so excited! I enjoyed Ace of Shades when it came out last year, but I have a feeling that King of Fools is going to be even better, Ace of Shades was definitely the set up book, I think we’re really going to get into the action here and I can’t wait.

9. Romanov-Nadine Brandes

I’m also ridiculously excited to read this book, I loved Fawkes when I read it last year and a Romanov retelling with magic? Sounds just perfect.

10. The Gentleman’s Guide To Vice and Virtue-Mackenzi Lee

This will be my June #RockMyTBR book and I have to say I’m looking forward to finally seeing what all the hype around this one is about. I’ve read a couple of historical fiction books this year, but nothing that I’ve really, really loved yet, so I’m hoping this one will fit the bill.

So there we have it, the books I’m attempting to knock off my TBR this Spring. I’m pretty confident I should be able to manage them all, once I’ve handed my project and essay in, I have a month and a half of uninterrupted reading time before my parents come and get me from Uni so I’ll probably spend a large portion of that reading. What book are on your TBR this Spring? Have you read any of mine? Are you excited for any of mine (since half of them haven’t actually come out yet!)? Let me know in the comments!

Next week’s topic is an audio freebie, and since one of my resolutions is to try more audiobooks (I am going to have to actually get started on that one once my project is done!), I’m going to make a list of the Audiobooks I Want To Try.

Meanwhile,  the Spring equinox is coming up tomorrow, so I’m going to have my Quarterly Rewind up for you guys on Thursday, so keep an eye out for that!

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Top Ten Tuesday #202

Hi everyone! I hope you’ve all had a good week since I last did one of these, mine was largely uneventful, I’ve been editing my project work ready for the deadline in a couple of weeks. I’m going to see Victoria Schwab at her Glasgow event on Friday, and I’m super excited for that, especially since my friend and I very nearly didn’t get tickets!

Anyway, as it’s Tuesday, I’m back with another Top Ten Tuesday, courtesy of Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl. This week we’re talking Standalone Books That Need A Sequel, but I’ll be honest, I have barely read any standalones, and those that I have read I mostly feel worked out quite nicely so I don’t really have many standalones that I think need sequels. So instead I’m going to flip that topic on it’s head a little, and do Books That Didn’t/Don’t Need a Sequel(s) as I think that one will be a lot easier for me (I love sequels, but there are many stories that could have been self contained that get dragged out). Here we go:

1. A Curse So Dark and Lonely-Brigid Kemmerer

It was announced pretty soon after the release of A Curse So Dark and Lonely that it was going to have a sequel, and I have to admit I don’t really understand why, A Curse So Dark and Lonely is a very self contained story, once it’s over, it’s told the story that needed telling, so I don’t really see the point of there being a sequel.

2. The Hazel Wood-Melissa Albert

Another book where the story is self contained and didn’t really need more books to be finished, by the time the story is over, Melissa Albert has told the story that she intended to and there’s not really very many places to go with a sequel. Still I am excited to read the Tales from The Hinterland when it comes out as to be honest that sounds better than the actual book!

3. Sea Witch-Sarah Henning

Sea Witch is a villain origin story and it accomplishes that goal, by the end of the book, the Sea Witch has been born. There’s really no reason to have a sequel, especially since there wasn’t a lot of plot in the first book to begin with.

4. P.S. I Love You-Celia Ahern

It’s just been recently announced that P.S. I Love You is going to have a sequel, called Postscript, and as much as I was surprised that I actually liked P.S. I Love You (it’s a romance, not traditionally my favourite genre), it doesn’t need a sequel, the whole point of P.S. I Love You is that Gerry helps Holly move on via letters, by the end of the book, that story is nicely wrapped up and there’s not much more left to tell.

5. One of Us Is Lying-Karen McManus

One of Us Is Lying has been announced to have a sequel coming out next year and I have to admit I don’t really understand why? One of Us Is Lying again has a pretty self contained storyline and once the killer is revealed, what is the point of having a sequel? Plus this book had all sorts of problematic stuff in it which is so I feel somewhat uneasy about the idea of a sequel.

6. Enchantee-Gita Trelease

Don’t get me wrong, I loved Enchantee and I am actually really excited to read more in this world, but does Enchantee necessarily need a sequel? No, not really, the story wraps up in an incredibly satisfying way that allows it to stand alone.

7. Uglies-Scott Westerfeld

Okay this one is not necessarily that the book didn’t need a sequel, because the way the first book finished, it definitely did, but all the sequels to the book were so disappointing that I kind of wished it had just been a standalone.

8. Alex and Eliza-Melissa De La Cruz

I mean I get that historically there’s more story to tell with Hamilton and Eliza, but honestly this book works fine as a standalone, there’s no real reason to have two more books in the trilogy.

9. The Fandom-Anna Day

Apparently The Fandom is going to have a sequel? I have to admit I don’t really understand why, I mean I found the ending unsatisfying but not in a way where I felt like there needed to be a sequel, just in a way that I didn’t think the author had wrapped up her book properly. The Fandom is once again, a pretty self contained story and I don’t really get why the author feels that a sequel is necessary.

10. Flambards Trilogy-KM Peyton

I liked the first two sequels in this series, but this series was always intended to be a trilogy and not a quartet and you can definitely tell because the fourth book undoes a lot of the development and story that the characters go through in the first three books and it felt like the characters arcs naturally ended after the third book, so there was no need to add another book years after the fact.

So there we go, Books That Didn’t/Don’t Need A Sequel. Do you agree with any of my choices? Have you read any of the sequels to these books? Are you excited for the ones that aren’t yet released? Let me know in the comments!

I will be back next week with a new TTT, Books on My Spring TBR which is always a fun one, though I dread to look back on how badly I did on my Winter TBR! Meanwhile, I should have both a review of my latest read To Kill Kingdom, and an event recap of the Victoria Schwab event on Friday, up before the end of the week, so keep an eye out for those.

Top Ten Tuesday #201

Hi everyone! I hope you’ve all had a good week since I last did one of these, I had Samantha Shannon’s Priory event in Glasgow last week, and it was so great, I’m even more excited to read Priory now than I was before. I’m also finally nearing the end of my project work, which is an amazing feeling!

Anyway, since it’s Tuesday, I’m back with another Top Ten Tuesday, courtesy of Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl. This week we’re talking Characters I’d Like To Switch Places With, and although switching places with some of my favourite book characters would mean danger and pretty certain death, I’d do it quite happily as long as I got to have adventures along the way. So here we go:

1. Lila Bard-Shades of Magic Trilogy-V.E. Schwab

I would just love to have even half the confidence of Lila. Swaggering around Red London, threatening to stab people, learning magic? Yup, I would quite happily do all of that. Lila is willing to risk anything even pretty certain death for the sake of an adventure and if that isn’t a mood, I don’t know what is. Plus, if I was Lila, maybe Kell would let me borrow his coat…..

2. Celeana Sardothien-Throne of Glass series-Sarah J Maas

Again, Celeana just swaggers around acting like the world owes her everything, which yes, I would love to have that level of sheer confidence. I can’t say I’d make a particularly good assassin, but I’d love to have the chance to use her fire powers, blowing your enemies to oblivion sounds like fun!

3. Hermione Granger-Harry Potter series-JK Rowling

I just really, really, really want to go to Hogwarts okay! Although I’ll be honest, it would probably be better swapping places with someone who went to Hogwarts before Harry ever arrived, because I’d rather not be risking my life against Voldemort. Still, it would be so much fun to switch places with Hermione and get to go to all the cool lessons at Hogwarts, explore Hogsmeade and just generally have fun with magic.

4. Percy Jackson-Percy Jackson Universe-Rick Riordan

Again, it would probably be quite dangerous to be Percy, I mean he’s attacked by monsters A LOT, but I’d still do it, because even though those quests sound dangerous, they also seem like a lot of fun. Plus I’d get to live at Camp Half-Blood, and do all the cool activities (I really want to try chariot racing) and hang out with my demigod friends and most importantly have demigod powers!

5. Skulduggery Pleasant-Skulduggery Pleasant series-Derek Landy

Would I enjoy being a walking, talking, magical skeleton detective? I think I would. Granted, being a skeleton would be a little weird, but Skulduggery seems to pull it off, so I see no reason why I couldn’t and driving around in Bentley, wearing sharp suits and taking out bad guys with Valkyrie sounds like a hell of a lot of fun.

6. Artemis Fowl-Artemis Fowl series-Eoin Colfer

I’d love to be that smart and I think it would be a hell of a lot of fun to be a teenage criminal mastermind who hangs around with fairies and centaurs and elves and pixies and dwarves. Artemis has so many fun adventures and I think it would be a lot of fun to swap places with a character who leans more towards the evil side of things.

7. Amy Fleming-Heartland series-Lauren Brooke

Since I love horses, I’d love to swap places with Amy and live on her family’s ranch, to be able to spend my entire life working with horses would be amazing especially if I had the same talents that she has.

8. Scarlett Dragna-Caraval Trilogy-Stephanie Garber

I prefer Tella as a character, but I’d want to swap places with Scarlett simply because of her magical dress, can you imagine how much time having a dress that changed would save? You’d have no need for multiple dresses, you could have several dresses in just that one, which would be amazing.

9. Kat Bishop-Heist Society series-Ally Carter

Yes, I would like to lead a gang of thieves. Travelling the world, sneaking into different places to steal things, it sounds like such a great adventure and Kat’s friends are so much fun, so it would be awesome to get to swap places with Kat and spend some time doing heists with her crew.

10. Nina Zenik-Grishaverse-Leigh Bardugo

Obviously I’d love to be a member of the Dregs, but I had to think a little about which one I’d like to be. I don’t think I’d do well as Kaz, I’m nowhere near agile enough to be Inej, I’m not really severe enough to be Matthias. That left Wylan, Jesper or Nina and in the end I decided I’d want to switch places with Nina, a) so I could eat all the waffles, b) because her Grisha powers are the coolest (sorry Jesper) and c) just because she seems like the most fun to me!

So there we go, the Characters I’d Like To Switch Places With. Would you want to switch places with any of these characters? Why/why not? Let me know in the comments!

I will be back next Tuesday with a new TTT, Standalone Books Which Need A Sequel, which should be a great one as I always find myself wanting more after reading a standalone book! Meanwhile, I’m hoping to have another Writing Corner post up this week, so stay tuned for that, I’ll probably be putting that one up over the weekend.

Top Ten Tuesday #200

Hi all! I hope you’ve all had a good week since I last did one of these. I got to see Hamilton last week (I know, I know, I’ve mentioned it 20000 times and will be doing so more, not sorry!) and it was AMAZING. The entire cast was incredible, the costumes, the staging, the music (obviously), the lighting, everything was just brilliant and me and all three of my friends walked out of the show after it finished thinking that a) there was no way that show was almost three hours long, it went by so fast and b) that we all wanted to see it again. If you’re in London and can afford it, I definitely recommend going, because it’s one of the best theatre shows I’ve ever seen.

This week is coming a little bit down to earth after the whirlwind of last week, but I am going to see Samantha Shannon at her Glasgow event for Priory on Thursday (Happy Birthday Priory, it’s out today!)  which I am super excited for. Anyway, since it’s Tuesday, it’s time for another Top Ten Tuesday (my 200th!), courtesy of Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl. This week, we’re talking Places Mentioned In Books That We’d Like To Visit, but since my list of those hasn’t really changed much since we did the same topic either last year or the year before, I’ve decided to change it, and share the Places Mentioned In Books That I Have Visited. So here we go:

1. Kings Cross Station, London-Harry Potter-JK Rowling

Yup, I go into the same station that Harry Potter got the Hogwarts Express from every time I go to London, so I can’t say it’s all that exciting going there now, but I do know that people come in from all over the world just to see Platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross, which is pretty cool!

2. Six of Crows-Amsterdam-Leigh Bardugo

Okay, so Ketterdam isn’t real, but Amsterdam is, and I know that Leigh Bardugo largely based Ketterdam off the Dutch city, so I’m counting it! I wandered the canals, imagining Kaz and the rest of Dregs doing the same thing, plotting their next scheme!

3. Seven Dials, London-The Bone Season-Samantha Shannon

Yes, my friend and I did go to Seven Dials on our sightseeing tour of London last Thursday, just because it’s mentioned in Samantha Shannon’s books. It’s not the most obvious tourist spot, but the Dials are very pretty and it was a nice place to sit and rest our worn out feet!

4. The Empire State Building, New York-Percy Jackson series-Rick Riordan

When I went to New York in 2012, my family took a trip to the Empire State Building. We only went up to the 86th floor observatory, as it cost another $20 each to go to the top, but still when I was in the lift, I was tempted to see if I could find the button that would lead me to the 600th floor and Mount Olympus.

5. 221B Baker Street-Sherlock Holmes-Arthur Conan Doyle

Yup, I’ve been to visit the “real” 221B Baker Street (it’s actually around 237-41 Baker Street, but they paid to use the 221B address), where there is a museum of Sherlock Holmes memorabilia. I will admit, that I’ve only been in the gift shop because there’s always been such large queues when I’ve been there, but one day I will go into the actual museum.

6. Paris-Enchantee-Gita Trelease

Whilst I haven’t been to 18th Century pre-Revolution Paris, I have been to 21st Century Paris, and it was just as glorious as described in Gita Trelease’s wonderful new fantasy, though I have yet to witness the magnificence of Versailles.

7. Aberdour Castle,Scotland-Outlander-Diana Gabaldon

Aberdour Castle doubles as the fictional monastery where Claire and Murtagh take Jamie to recover from his ordeal at Wentworth in the TV series and I visited there with my friend Nicola a few years ago, it’s completely gorgeous!

8. Oxford, England-The Bone Season-Samantha Shannon

The real Oxford is not quite as dark as the Sheol I prison camp that it becomes in Samantha Shannon’s bestselling dystopian series! It’s quite a beautiful city, with some lovely landmarks to enjoy, like the Bodleian Library.

9. Edinburgh, Scotland-City of Ghosts & The Song Rising-Victoria Schwab and Samantha Shannon

I’ve been to pretty much all of the locations featured on the map in the front of City of Ghosts, Edinburgh Castle, The Royal Mile, Greyfriars Kirk (yup my friends and I went to scout out Tom Riddle’s grave!), Grassmarket, South Bridge and Blackwell’s. In fact, the only places I haven’t been are Arthur’s Seat, Mary King’s Close (which I’m hoping to visit this year) and The Lane’s End. I’ve also been to the Edinburgh Vaults, a location mentioned in the third book in Samantha Shannon’s Bone Season series.

10. Santorini, Greece-The Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants-Ann Brashares

My friend Hannah and I visited the island that is featured in The Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants when we went on holiday to Greece for my 21st birthday, almost two years ago now. It was just as beautiful as described, although I understand now why she needed a donkey to get up all those steps, we were very out of breath walking up from the harbour!

So there we go, Places Mentioned In Books That I Have Visited! Have you been to any of these? Would you like to go? Let me know in the comments!

I will be back next Tuesday with a new TTT, Characters In Books That I’d Like To Switch Places With, which should be a fun one. Meanwhile, I’ve got a few things in the pipeline for this week, a recap of the Samantha Shannon event on Friday, a review of my current book, Hamilton and Peggy: A Revolutionary Friendship and potentially a review of A Curse So Dark and Lonely depending on when I finish it, so stay tuned for those.

 

 

 

 

Top Ten Tuesday #199

Hi everyone! I hope you had a good week since I last did one of these, I’m back at home for reading week this week and I’ve been having a great time so far, I was in London on Saturday for the Hot Key Bloggers Brunch, which if you haven’t seen my wrap up of it, was awesome. I’ve also been back in London today, going to an exhibition on the Romanovs at the Queen’s Gallery near Buckingham Palace, which was AMAZING and made my history nerd heart incredibly happy. In fact, it’s a very London centric week because I’ll be back there on Thursday with my friend Nicola for some sightseeing and most importantly, TO SEE HAMILTON. Only two days to go, and I’m so ridiculously excited I can’t even, I’ve been wanting to see Hamilton for almost two years, and I can’t believe it’s actually finally happening.

Anyway, if I start talking too much about Hamilton, I will never stop, so as it’s Tuesday, that means another Top Ten Tuesday, courtesy of Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl. This week we’re talking Books We Enjoyed That Have Fewer Than 2000 Ratings on Goodreads. I was a bit apprehensive of this topic since we have done it before and I wasn’t sure how much my list would have changed since the last time, but it turns out, it has changed quite a lot and I have 10 brand new underrated books to share with you guys. So here we go, Books I Enjoyed That Have Fewer Than 2000 Ratings On Goodreads:

1. Firestarter-Tara Sim-222 ratings-My Rating: 5 Stars

Granted, Firestarter was only released just over a month ago, so it hasn’t really had time to build up a mass of ratings, but I think this series is just criminally underrated in general. This was an incredible, explosive finale of a brilliant trilogy, if you like steampunk gay Victorian boys and an alternate Victorian London (& India) where the world’s time is run by clock towers, then you should definitely try this trilogy.

2. The Enchanted Sonata-Heather Dixon Wallwork-321 ratings-My Rating: 3 stars

I didn’t exactly love The Enchanted Sonata, it read a little young for me (even more than the YA audience it was aimed for) but I did enjoy it and was surprised that it didn’t have more ratings, it’s quite a unique little story, a retelling of both The Nutcracker and The Pied Piper of Hamelin.

3. By A Charm and A Curse-Jaime Questell-495 ratings-My Rating: 4 stars

This was one of my favourite books of last year and given how popular Circus/Carnival books have been in the last few years, I’m quite surprised it has as few ratings as it does, especially since it’s a great book, kind of like Pinocchio crossed with your classic Disney Princess story. It’s so rare to get a standalone fantasy story these days and this one is an amazing one.

4. Charlotte Says-Alex Bell-549 Ratings-My Rating: 3 stars

Charlotte Says is quite an odd little horror book, it’s the prequel to Frozen Charlotte, a story all about haunted Frozen Charlotte dolls, this book shows how the dolls came to be that way. I enjoyed this book but I can understand why it might not be everyone’s cup of tea, things do take a turn for the weird and horrific, even moreso than in the first book!

5. Enchantee-Gita Trelease-641 Ratings-My Rating: 5 stars

This book is incredibly new, it only released at the beginning of the month, and it’s not out till Thursday here in the UK, so I can understand why it’s not as highly rated yet, not as many people have had the chance to read it yet. I’m sure once it’s been out for a little while longer, it will burn way past the 2000 ratings mark set by this week’s topic, because it has everything, History, a gorgeous backdrop in Versailles of the 1780s, an amazing heroine and a simple but incredibly effective magic system.

6. For A Muse of Fire-Heidi Heilig-718 Ratings-My Rating: 3.5 stars

The start of Heidi Heilig’s new fantasy trilogy is a wonderfully diverse, incredibly creative story with a mentally ill main character. The magic system was awesome, the main character is able to bind souls of the dead to shadow puppets and control them which was something I have never seen in fantasy before. It’s an interesting mix between French Colonialism and Asian culture and I’m looking forward to seeing what she does with the next book, A Kingdom For A Stage.

7. Chainbreaker-Tara Sim-780 Ratings-My Rating: 5 stars

As I have already established in this post, I love Tara Sim’s Timekeeper trilogy and think more people should read it. The second book in the series takes us to Victorian India and really dives deep into British colonialism and explores the biraciality of one of the main characters (Sim herself is also biracial) and we get to see a lot more of Colton’s emotional backstory, as well as his relationship with Danny. I will never forgive her for that cliffhanger though. EVER. If you read Chainbreaker, do yourself a favour and have Firestarter on hand straight afterwards.

8. Fawkes-Nadine Brandes-1,649 Ratings-My Rating: 4 stars

This was another of my favourite books of last year, the combination of the Stuart era setting, the Gunpowder plot re-imagining and the super cool magic system of colours being controlled by masks was a complete and utter winner for me and I cannot wait to read Brandes next historical fantasy re-imagining,  Romanov, this year.

9. The Exact Opposite of Okay-Laura Steven-1,668 Ratings-My Rating: 4 stars

Another of my favourite books of last year, The Exact Opposite of Okay was uproariously funny, amazingly feminist and just one of the most entertaining books I’ve ever read. I seriously want to be friends with Izzy O’Neill, I think we would have a lot of fun together. I cannot wait to read Izzy’s next adventure when A Girl Called Shameless comes out-only 3 weeks to go!

10. A Thousand Perfect Notes-C.G. Drews-1,776 Ratings-My Rating: 3.5 stars

I enjoyed Cait’s debut novel, not as much as I hoped I would, it took rather longer than I’d have liked to get into considering how short it was, but I did like the characters and I thought the story was good if not amazing. I’m looking forward to seeing what Cait does with her next novel, The Boy Who Steals Houses, out in April.

So there we go, Books With Under 2000 Ratings On Goodreads that I enjoyed. Have you read any of these? Did you enjoy them? Let me know in the comments!

I will be back next Tuesday, with a topic that I’m hugely excited for, Places Mentioned In Books That I’d Like To Visit, I always love thinking of where I’d go if I got the chance to step into my favourite fictional worlds. It’s been quite a heavy week so far on the blog this week, with 3 posts in 3 days, so I doubt I’ll have anything else for you till my next Top Ten Tuesday next week, so stay tuned for that!

 

Top Ten Tuesday #198

Hi everyone! I hope you’ve had a good week since I last did one of these, I had a lovely weekend, my mum came up to visit and we went to the cinema to see Green Book (great film) and out for dinner, which was very nice. I had a rather frustrating Monday though, as I’m having to chase people up for interviews for my project and not everything is going the way I want it to, which is more than a little bit irritating.

Anyway, enough about my project woes, it’s Tuesday so that means another Top Ten Tuesday courtesy of Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl. This week, we’re talking my least favourite topic, Valentine’s Day. We’re supposed to be talking Favourite Couples but honestly, my list hasn’t changed much since the last time I did this topic, so I’ve decided to switch it up a little, and share my Top Ten Films To Watch on Valentine’s Day For Those Who Are Just Done With Love i.e. if you’re single and cynical like me. So here they are:

1. The Last Five Years

This one is going in my own Valentine’s Day film rotation this year, it’s perfect for those of us who aren’t wanting to watch a happy couple film on Valentine’s Day, instead you can watch the deterioration of Jamie and Cathy’s relationship from beginning to end (and end to beginning)!

2. Ocean’s 8

What better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day as a single woman than gathering your girls and watching this awesome heist movie? I can think of none.

3. A Monster Calls

If you prefer to take the sad, depressing way out of Valentine’s Day, then A Monster Calls is a perfect call, instead of having to watch happy, loved up couples, you can watch Conor face his mother’s terminal illness.

4. Gone Girl

After watching the twisted relationship that is Amy and Nick Dunne in Gone Girl, you’ll be thanking your lucky stars that you are single and not involved in a relationship like theirs!

5. The Book Thief

If you’re feeling a bit maudlin on Valentine’s Day, you can always pop in The Book Thief, and listen to Death narrate the tale of Liesel Meminger, a young bibliophile living in Nazi Germany and using the only weapon she has at her disposal, her love of books and stories.

6. (500) Days of Summer

(500) Days of Summer might look like a rom-com on the surface, but as the movie itself will tell you, this is no love story. It’s a tale of unrequited love and how our expectations and reality of love can be completely different things.

7. The Break-Up

The Break-Up is described as a romantic comedy, but it’s really not, much of the movie follows the main couple Brooke and Gary, after their breakup, as the two fight it out in a battle of wills as to who will keep the couple’s shared condo following the breakup. If you’re not wanting to follow a loved up couple on Valentine’s Day, then this film might be perfect for you.

8. War Horse

There’s not even a whiff of romance to be found in this film, at least not of the human kind, it’s all about the love of a boy for his horse and the harsh times they face during WWI. If you are looking for a movie to make you cry on Valentine’s Day, look no further, you’ve found it.

9. Mulan

There’s nothing like a good bit of Disney, and Mulan is one of the best-yes there is a whiff of romance between her and Shang but that’s not the main focus of the film and this is no princess gets saved by handsome prince narrative, Mulan is the one who does the saving here, and it’s her country, China, not a man.

10. Ruby Sparks

On the surface, Ruby Sparks might appear like your average rom-com, but it’s a dark, twisted look at what happens when an author falls in love with his own character, and writes her to life. What initially starts as a happy romance, quickly spirals into chaos, so if you’re not wanting a typical romantic comedy on Valentine’s, then this might be perfect for you.

So there we go, my suggestions on films you can watch, if like me, you are just done with Valentine’s Day and don’t want to indulge in all the love with everyone else. Have you watched any of these? Did you enjoy them? What films would you suggest for those who don’t want to share in the love this Valentine’s Day?

I will be back next week with another Top Ten Tuesday, this time we’re talking Books I Loved With Fewer Than 2000 Ratings on Goodreads, but to be honest, I think I’ve done that topic before and I doubt it’s changed much since last time, so I will probably do something different, though I’m not sure what yet. In the meantime, tomorrow is my fifth blogaversary, so look out for a very special Jo Talks post to celebrate!

 

Top Ten Tuesday #197

Hi all! I hope you’ve all had a good week since I last did one of these, I had to go over to Edinburgh for an interview for my project on Friday, and that was really great, I got to talk to a student group who are doing really amazing work at bringing awareness to period poverty and it was so much fun getting to talk to people who are so passionate about the same things I am! I’m meeting my supervisor tomorrow, and I’m feeling really happy about the progress I’ve made, so I’m hoping that goes well.

Anyway, since it’s Tuesday, I have another Top Ten Tuesday for you all, courtesy of Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl. This week we’re meant to be talking Upcoming Books We’re Unsure About, but I’m pretty happy with the upcoming releases I have on my TBR, so I had a slightly different take. Basically, since I’m graduating this year, I kind of need to do a big book unhaul, as I won’t be able to bring all of my books home with me, and whilst I do have a space to store them, it seems like a good opportunity to weed out parts of my collection that I’m not necessarily excited about anymore. So here we go, the Books I’m Considering Unhauling Before Graduation:

1. The Hate U Give-Angie Thomas

Okay, okay, please, please don’t hate me! I know everyone loves this book, and I might give it a second chance, but when I last tried to pick it up in September of last year, I just couldn’t really get into it at all and since then I haven’t really felt the need to get back to it, so I’m not sure if I should just cut my losses and let it go.

2. Even The Darkest Stars-Heather Fawcett

I got this in my first ever FairyLoot box and I did think that the whole expedition aspect sounded fun, but since I got it, I just haven’t felt the excitement or need to pick it up and I honestly forgot I had it, so I’m not really sure if it’s worth keeping.

3. The Big Lie-Julie Mayhew

Again, I thought this one sounded great when I first got it, a contemporary Nazi England sounded like a different take on a story that has been done quite a lot of times, but I haven’t even really thought about it since I bought it, so I don’t know whether to give it a chance or not.

4. The Diabolic-S.J. Kincaid

I picked this one up at YALC last year, and it did sound interesting, but I’m not a massive Sci-Fi fan, so I haven’t really felt the urge to pick it up since, and I’m not sure whether it’s worth keeping or not.

5. Wonder Woman: Warbringer-Leigh Bardugo

Okay this one I am actually really torn on. I love Leigh Bardugo, and it’s signed, so in that respect I want to keep it because I’m loathe to give up a signed book by an author I actually really love. At the same time, I tried to get into it and found it really slow and I’ve heard that that doesn’t really change, so I’m not sure whether it’s worth keeping or not.

6. Show Stopper-Hayley Barker

On the one hand, I love circus books and this one does sound fun, but I’ve read some not so great reviews of this book that have kind of put me off, so I’ve kept putting it to the bottom of my TBR pile and now I’m wondering if it’s really worth the read or not.

7. Court of Fives-Kate Elliott

I bought this one a few years ago and at first I was really excited, I liked the idea of the gladitorial type competition but again, since buying it, I’ve kind of forgotten about it and now I’m not sure if I still really want to read it.

8. All The Crooked Saints-Maggie Stiefvater

I tried to pick this up last year and I couldn’t really get into it at all. I love Maggie Stiefvater’s work, but I’m just not sure if this particular book is for me. Still I don’t know if I should give it a second chance, as I wasn’t all that far into it when I put it down.

9. Front Lines-Michael Grant

On the one hand this book sounds amazing, female soldiers in WWII, yes please! But I’ve heard some not so great stuff about the author and his actions and that’s kind of been putting me off reading his books, even though they do sound great.

10. Northern Lights-Phillip Pullman

I picked up this book more because I felt it was something I had to read than something I really wanted to and I just honestly really haven’t felt the urge to pick it up since I bought although maybe since the TV series is coming up soon, I might read it this year, I don’t know.

11. Chasing The Stars-Malorie Blackman

Like Wonder Woman, I am kind of loathe to give this one up, because it is signed, and I do love Malorie Blackman’s work but at the same time, it’s a space/sci-fi book and those aren’t really my thing, so I haven’t really felt the urge to pick it up since I bought it and I don’t know if that’s a sign I should give it up or just leave it a while longer.

12. The Novice-Taran Marathu

I thought this sounded cool when I got it, you know demons and all that, but I’ve felt my interest waning over the years, so I’m not sure if I should just cut my losses and get rid of it, or if I should just wait and see if I decide to read it.

13. Messenger of Fear-Michael Grant

I have much the same issue with this one as with Front Lines, the concept sounds amazing, but since I’ve heard not so great stuff about the author, I’m not really sure if I want to support him anymore.

14. The Bone Queen-Alison Croggon

I picked this one up without realising it was a prequel that I would need the rest of the series to understand! Also to be honest, super high fantasy a la Tolkein is not really my kind of thing, so my interest in this is kind of waning really.

15. The Catalyst-Helena Coggan

To be honest, I don’t even remember why I picked this one up. I think I was intrigued because the author was so young, but having looked at it more, I’m not entirely sure if it’s my thing, the blurb is kind of vague and waffly, but I’ve picked up from reviews that it’s about angels and that’s not really my thing, so yeah, consider me unsure about this one now.

16. The Shadow Queen-C.J. Redwine

I’m in two minds about this one. I love fairytale retellings and I like the idea of a Snow White retelling, but I’ve had this one for like three years and still haven’t read it, so I don’t know if it’s worth allowing it to keep taking up space when it’s been so long and I haven’t read it.

17. Fire and Flood-Victoria Scott

I bought this one at YALC a few years ago, but since buying it I’ve kind of lost interest, and I haven’t really heard much about it, so I’m unsure as to whether I really want to read it or not, especially since it doesn’t sound like a particularly unique dystopia.

18. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer-Michelle Hodkin

The concept of this book is interesting to me, but again, since picking it up, I haven’t really felt a massive pull to read it, added to which I’m not really sure what it’s about, so I can’t decide if I want to read it or not.

19. Wither-Lauren DeStefano

Again the concept for this one did sound interesting when I first picked it up, but I’ve just sort of lost interest over the years, and since it’s been one of the books I’ve had in storage for a while, I kind of forgot I had it! It still does sound cool, and I’m not entirely certain if I want to get rid of it, but I’m not certain if I’m going to read it either and it might be better if I get rid of it and get some more books that I’m more excited for.

So there we go, those are the books I’m considering unhauling-now I need your help! Which of these are actually worth it (and please don’t tell me all of them, I do have to get rid of some!)? Which could I afford to get rid of? Let me know in the comments!

I will be back next week with a new TTT, our annual Valentine’s Day themed one, but since I doubt my favourite couples list has changed much since the last time I did it, so instead I’m going to be sharing Movies To Watch If You’re Not That Into Valentine’s Day, since I’m a Valentine’s scrooge and the last thing I feel like doing is sharing the love! In the meantime, I should have my first #RockMyTBR update of the year up either tomorrow or Thursday, depending on how much time I have!