Favourite Reads of 2018

I can't believe we've reached the end of 2018 already!
I can vividly remember sitting down an writing my Favourite Reads of 2017 post...and here we are again a WHOLE year later.
I was quite disappointed with my 2017 reading year, having read 40 books less that the previous year. FORTY. I was adamant of making 2018 better - but I did not succeed.
In 2018 I only managed to read 52 books, which by no means is terrible, but I just wanted more. Once again, the main culprit for this is University - it's a real time sucker. The work never ends, so I feel like I get barely any time to just sit and read and write up blog posts. It sucks, but that's life!

HOWEVER, even though it hasn't been the greatest reading year, I did achieve some blogger goals that I'm completely over the moon about:

1.) I got a personalised ARC with my name *printed* on the cover. OMG!

2.) I was quoted in a book for the first time, but not just any book, one of my favourite books of all time... STRANGE THE DREAMER! Again, OMG!

I'm forever grateful to work with amazing publishers and I can't wait to see what 2019 holds for me (probably just more university work, but a girl can dream)

But before I focus too much on the future, lets reflect on my favourite books of 2018!

Muse Of Nightmares - Review

Book Review:
Title: Muse of Nightmares
Author: Laini Taylor
Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton
Release date: October 2nd 2018
I received an early copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

“Once upon a time there was a silence that dreamed of becoming a song, and then I found you, and now everything is music.”

In the wake of tragedy, neither Lazlo nor Sarai are who they were before. One a god, the other a ghost, they struggle to grasp the new boundaries of their selves as dark-minded Minya holds them hostage, intent on vengeance against Weep.
   Lazlo faces an unthinkable choice--save the woman he loves, or everyone else?--while Sarai feels more helpless than ever. But is she? Sometimes, only the direst need can teach us our own depths, and Sarai, the muse of nightmares, has not yet discovered what she's capable of.
   As humans and godspawn reel in the aftermath of the citadel's near fall, a new foe shatters their fragile hopes, and the mysteries of the Mesarthim are resurrected: Where did the gods come from, and why? What was done with thousands of children born in the citadel nursery? And most important of all, as forgotten doors are opened and new worlds revealed: Must heroes always slay monsters, or is it possible to save them instead?

Favourite Reads of 2017

It's the end of the year, which can only mean one thing; It's time for the annual Top Reads of the Year post! I read 68 books this year, which I'm a bit disappointed with. It is in no way a small number but comparing it to the number of books I read in previous years (100 in 2015 & 103 in 2016) I can't help but feel a bit gutted. But to be fair, I did have my A-level exams this year & I started University, so a lot of my free time was taken up by copious amounts of revision and work.
Before I get into my favourite reads, here's a little disclaimer: The books on the list may not have been released this year, but I read them in 2017, which is the thing that matters. Also, there is no particular order to this list - apart from one book, my favourite book of the year!
LETS GET TO IT!

Strange The Dreamer - Review

Book Review:
Title: Strange The Dreamer
Author: Laini Taylor
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
I received an ARC/PROOF of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

“You’re a storyteller. Dream up something wild and improbable," she pleaded. "Something beautiful and full of monsters."
“Beautiful and full of monsters?"
“All the best stories are.” 

The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around—and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he’s been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance or lose his dream forever.
What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving?
The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries—including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo’s dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? And if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real?
Welcome to Weep.