T5W: Top 5 Books I Read In 2014

Happy New Years Eve everyone and I hope you are having a good last day of 2014, mine has been pretty great - full of Italian food and shopping - which is a nice way to end the year. 2014 has been a pretty good year for me, the ups have outnumbered the downs for once which to me means it has been a successful year. I really got back into reading this year, I've always been an avid reader pretty consistently since I was about 7 but with 2013 being a pretty rough year for me reading took a back seat as I simply just didn't have time for it up until I finished my Highers in May this year. I had forgotten the joy of discovering new books and had resigned myself to reading old favorites and stuck to my comfort zone which in all fairness wasnt too big - something that happened with all elements of my life not just my reading - but I feel since then I have been more open. Since May this year I feel as though I have completely turned my life around, but more on that in my next blog post.

It has been incredibly difficult to narrow down my top 5 books that I have read this year as I have read such a wide range of books this year, all of which I rate slightly differently; if its contemporary I want to feel fuzzy inside, I want new adult to make me feel all the emotions, I want fantasy to make me feel like a part of the story. So without further ado, here are my top 5 books I've read in 2014 and as usual they are in no particular order.

Beautiful Disaster by Jamie Mcguire

It will come as no surprise to regular readers of my blog that this book has made it up onto my top 5 reads of this year. I found this book so utterly compelling, it was like nothing I had ever read before and it spoke to me on so many levels I am still struggling to comprehend just how deeply it touched me. Lots of people condemn this book for some of the actions of the characters, and don't get me wrong I am not advocating this type of relationship as being something to romanticise, but I really do love how this book portrays a whole other side to relationships. Although the characters have many a cute moment, it shows how wrong the typical idolised relationship is. Relationships aren't all easy going and perfect, relationships are messy, they are hard work, and they are different for each and every couple.

Blood Promise by Richelle Mead

This year I read the first four books in the Vampire Academy series after caving and watching the movie when I was ill. The third book is by far my favorite in the series so far, although I have thoroughly enjoyed each book. Richelle Mead's writing is so flowing it makes these books incredibly quick and easy to read. I plan to get around to the final two books of the series in 2015.

Hopeless by Colleen Hoover 

Yes I know, I only finished this book in the early hours of this morning but by gosh if I didn't enjoy every second of reading it. This is the type of book I love, books that make me feel, books that make me text my friends at 2am ranting about how the author is the devil or how freaking adorable the characters are. And this book did exactly that. Keep an eye out for a full review as I will be posting one in the next few days if you are interested in reading it.

Just One Day by Gayle Foreman

I read this book whilst on holiday this year and it could not have been a more perfect summer read. I feel like this book changed my outlook upon life quite a bit and it made me realise many mistakes that I was making, that I was letting life pass me by whilst looking forward to the future and ignoring what was going on around me. It made me realise just how much I base my daily tasks upon time and how restricting the concept of time can be, it made me realise that getting lost isn't always a bad thing, and it made me realise that I was being too controlling over my own life and that sometimes you just need to sit back and let life happen.

Will Greyson, Will Greyson by John Green and David Levithan

Again another book that has impacted me this year, can you see a running theme? I really didn't expect to like this book, this was the second book by John Green that I read and whilst I did enjoy The Fault In Our Stars it just didn't really do it for me, and also the fact that it was from dual perspectives was a concern as they generally infuriate me as I tend to favour one character and dislike the other. This book was brilliant, it made me laugh and it made me cry, as all good books do. The juxtaposition of the characters was flawless, they highlighted the others best and worst features in a way it left me questioning myself. The book has just a simple premise but such a beautiful story.

So that's it, that's my top 5 books of 2014. I'd just like to say a massive happy new year to everyone and I hope 2015 brings you everything you could hope for.

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Creating Yourself

It's nearing the end of the year again, a time where everyone seems to get nostalgic, tries to pick out parts of their lives that they wish to improve in the coming year. I have never been one for making new years resolutions so this year I am going to make a list of things I hope to achieve next year as opposed to things I wish to change about my outlook on life, but more on that to come later this week. Instead of picking out the negatives that the year has brought along I like to pick out all the best bits of the year and celebrate my achievements as however small they may seem to others, they can be the most amazing thing in to world to you personally. So this is going to get personal and its going to be a long one so feel free to ignore this or sit tight and listen to me spill my thoughts out to you all. 

This year has been a pretty big one for me and most of the things of the greatest significance have been brought about by tiny seemingly insignificant things. I personally don't believe in fate or destiny or whatever you like to call it, and I was brought up in a very scientifically minded family so I've never been very religious. I don't believe that there is a certain one path that we are intended to follow, but I do believe our lives are like jigsaws, sometimes we have pieces that slot in perfectly and fill up a gap, sometimes pieces don't fit - maybe they used to and we begin to notice that we were forcing them into place - and sometimes we expand on the puzzle, not filling a gap but making the whole picture better. And sometimes a simple situation can push another jigsaw piece closer to being slotted into place, but we get to chose whether it is pushed in or not. I am rambling now so I shall just get to it.

In January last year, after months of headaches and straining eyes, I made an appointment to get my eyes tested. I went in expecting to be given a prescription and choose some glasses when in actual fact I was given a jigsaw piece that with a lot of hard work might some day slot perfectly into my puzzle. The optometrist (who is now one of my bosses as a result) was fabulous and opened my eyes the the world of optometry, a career that I had never even considered.

 I had never felt completely sure about what I wanted to do with my life other than the fact that I wanted to go to University, I had wanted to be everything from a teacher to a neuroscience, but at some point during the research I did into Optometry as a result of the conversation something clicked. It not only fitted my love for science but it would make me grow as a person and I would also be constantly learning new things. it seemed perfect. It still does. So I got a job in the opticians as an optical assistant and now work in the same setting that I want to after uni. So as a result of trying to get my headaches sorted, which I was told were a result of excessive studying none the less, I discovered what I want to do with my life. God this really does sound like my personal statement.

Getting that job there also helped me to discover who I am as a person so to speak. For the past 4 or 5 years I had kind of lost who I was. In those years I have gone through a lot, something I might touch upon in a future blog post - who knows - but for now I'm just going to leave it at that. I retreated into myself, allowed these problems I was facing to consume me, to define me. I essentially became a hermit and spent all my time alone with my nose stuck in a book, something that I am still trying to  find balance with so bear with me, trying to avoid daily life and facing my problems. 

It sounds stupid but I began to almost loose my social skills, the longer I spent alone the worse I got to be around others. I became terrified of being around others, something that still remains a problem and I have accepted I will always have to deal with, anything that involved being around people that I did not know or trust was just unthinkable. 

Getting that job forced me to face my fears head on. I had to speak to strangers, phone strangers, put myself out there in ways that I never thought possible. Each new thing that I learned at first scared the living daylights out of me but I did them. I did them all and I managed. Working there has made me realise just how strong I am and how much I have been holding back. 

I don't feel like a whole new person, I feel like me again and that is spectacular. It feels like this strength, this self assurance, has been hidden from me for years and now that I have uncovered it and dusted it off I feel invincible. Once you discover how strong you truly are, nothing can hold you back.

I went into this year with the knowledge that one of my closest friends would unfortunately be moving away at some point before we began our final year at high school. The news really knocked me, I was really worried about growing distant from her as I find it pretty tricky to trust people and she is one of two people in my life that I can tell absolutely anything to. Turns out I had no reason to be worried, if anything we have grown closer. Maybe we don't see each other every day at school now, and maybe we don't get to speak as often as I'd like but that doesn't mean that I can't contact her whenever I need to. Just because she has other friends now that doesn't mean that she wont be there for me if I need her, and vise versa. It is, in some ridiculous way, quite nice having a close friend that doesn't live near you as you don't take time with them for granted. I've become one of those people that I admire the most, I focus on the future and tell everyone else to kiss my ass. You may think that sounds selfish but I have learned that sometimes you need to put yourself first and right now is one of those times.

Her moving away has been a really big learning curve for me. Don't get me wrong, it is really difficult and took the better part of two months to get my head around, but I have learned a lot about friendship as a result. I've learned that you don't have to see someone everyday to be close with them. I've learned that you don't have to be in constant contact with someone to remain good friends. I've learnt that when you find someone who is truly meant to be in your life, no amount of distance can force you apart. 

I feel like I've learned how adult friendships really work, as silly as that sounds. It's not all about telling each other every silly little thing that happens and texting every night to see how the other persons day has been, but knowing that despite having totally separate things going on in your lives, that person will be there for you and you them whenever you need each other. And now I'm getting emotional, dear lord. 

What I'm trying to say is that I feel like I've grown a lot in the past year, grown up and grown better as a person. And I haven't lost the part of me that took over the past few years and that's ok because it sits in the corner most of the time reminding me of how far I have come and to keep pushing forward. Some days that part takes over, and that's ok too because I know how to shove it aside now. 

Back when this all first started I had this stupid unrealistic dream that some guy would come along and stand by my side and help me through all this while being there for me, someone to love me that I could rely on (I blame this on the crazy idea that society pushes upon us that we need a man to be complete, and all I wanted was to not be falling apart anymore). But now I look back proudly and think about the fact that with a little push in the right direction from an unexpected source I managed to take control of my life without the help of anyone else. Who I am today wasn't just sitting out there waiting for me, I didn't just pick it up like 'ah yes this is me,' I worked hard and chose who I am today. I haven't 'found myself,' I have created myself.

December Favorites

This is never really a post that I ever considered making when I set up this blog but I really enjoy watching monthly favorite videos on youtube and there have been a few things that I have been slightly obsessed with this month and I am just dying to share them with people other than my close friends, who are sick to death of hearing about them now, so I decided to make a little blog post about it didn't I?

There are a few beauty bits and pieces that I have been using continually this month, the first being the Seventeen Define and Conquer Contour pallet from Boots. I have been after a really good contour kit for a while now and this one was a great little discovery as I didn't want to be forking out a lot for one as I was unsure as to how much I would use it. Turns out this little £5.99 pallet has become a firm staple in my makeup routine now as it is very easy to use. 

After purchasing the Revlon lipstick on Black Cherry back in September it has, again, become part of my everyday makeup. It is a perfect dark purple shade on the lips and can be put on strong or just dabbed into the lips for a hint of colour which is brilliant for things like going to work when you don't want such a strong lip. 

 I was lucky enough to get a set of the Real Techniques brushes as a gift this month and ever since I have used them every single time I have applied makeup. They are simply fabulous. I've been a firm lover of this brand of brushes for a while now but this set just take them to a whole new level.

There are also a few skincare/pamper products that I have been loving this month, the first being the Lush bath bomb Cinders. It is my all time favorite lush product and is unfortunately one of their winter collection so this is the only time of the year that I can get this beauty so I obviously take every chance to stock up.

Another Lush product had made it up there this month and that is the King Of Skin body butter bar. It took me a while to get to grips with this little thing but oh my the smell is just amazing. The product itself is just divine and leaves your skin so soft too. 

Being a firm tea lover, after hearing that Twinings had a mint tea out that tasted like mint sweets I just needed to try it out, and as it turns out I now have a new favorite tea. Intensely Buttermint by Twinings is just perfect for when you are craving something sweet or for after a big meal.

And what is winter without candles? The Yankee Candle Christmas candles this year have just been brilliant, especially Holiday Baking which is one of the ones that you can get in asda. It smells like cinnamon, what more can I say. 

And my favorite discovery of the month, and no doubt something that literally everyone has been watching for years is Grey's Anatomy. My friend has been watching it for a while now and I finally caved and watched a few episodes. Next thing you know and I had ordered the first 4 seasons off amazon. It's just brilliant and I have been hooked for weeks now.

T5W: Top 5 Winter Reads

Merry Christmas-eve everyone! This weeks top 5 Wednesday is suitably festive and is my top 5 winter reads for the holidays. Top 5 Wednesday is organised by GingerReadsLainey over on Youtube so go check her out if you haven't already. This weeks topic was incredibly easy for me to find books, and ridiculously difficult to narrow down. If you haven't already guessed from the large amounts of festive book tags that I have posted over the last few weeks, I love Christmas. Christmas food, movies, books and songs. Everything. And once school has finished for the term I completely surrender to the crazy that is Christmas. I interpreted this topic as novels set during the holiday season as opposed to those I like to read during winter as I feel I have mentioned them quite a lot recently. Without further ado, and as usual in no particular order, here are my top 5 winter reads.

Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle

This is such a great book to curl up with to get you into the holiday spirit when it's cold and snowing outside. It is one of those reads that just makes you want to snuggle up on your couch, a hot cocoa or tea in hand and enjoy the wintery atmosphere.

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

Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares is the perfect Christmas read. It took me around New York in the busiest time of the year with Dash’s abhorrence versus Lily’s ecstasy for the holidays. It kinda remind me of the movie Serendipity: same Christmas-in-New-York setting with the same non-meetings but with the longing of meeting the one another.

My True Love Gave To Me edited by Stephanie Perkins

Yes, its that beauty of a book that you've seen floating about tumblr, intagram and youtube over the past fer months. I'm sure you're sick to death of hearing people go on about it so i'll leave it at that.

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C S Lewis

This book brings me right back to my childhood. There are so many hidden metaphors that you pick up on re-reading this book.

Christmas With Billy And Me by Giovanna Fletcher 

I adore Giovanna's lighthearted contemporary romance and add in Christmas and you have a winner with me.  

Christmas Cracker Book Tag

Oh what's this? Another festive book tag? What a shock! Today I'm going to be doing the Christmas Cracker book tag by Lucy. I have tried to vary my answers here as a few questions are similar to that of other book tags I have done recently, so I will be trying to think up some different books for you here.

Pick a Book With a Wintry Cover

I have to admit, I'm a sucker for a pretty cover (My True Love Gave To Me anyone?), and when it's a pretty WINTRY cover, then I have no hope of exiting the bookstore without taking that pretty little sucker back home with me. I really like the cover of When I Fall In Love by Miranda Dickinson. Spending Christmas in Paris, or even travelling to Paris in the winter is a great dream of mine so this cover is just so perfect.

Pick a Book You're Likely to Buy as a Present

I have bought way to many books as gifts this year, which just goes to show how many good books I have read this year that I want other people to read. For this question I'm going to answer with a book that I actually have bought as a present as I know that the recipient won't see this, and that is I Can Resist Everything Except Temptation: The Wicked Wit Of Oscar Wilde by Maria Leach. I have a good friend who adores Oscar Wild so this was an obvious choice for her.

Pick A Festive Themed Book

Again, for this one I'm going to pick a book I haven't mentioned in previous tags and that is Breakfast At Darcy's by Ali McNamara. Not so much festive based but defiantly a good winter read for the run up to Christmas. 

Pick a Book You Can Curl up With by the Fireplace

There is nothing I like better than curling up with blankets, tea and a good book this time of year. I love a bit of romance or new adult when having a good old cozy read, and I would choose Beautiful Disaster as you all know how much I love that book, but as I've been mentioning it quiteeeee a lot recently I decided to go with  Will Greyson, Will Greyson by John Green and David Levithan. I personally find The Fault In Our Stars and Looking For Alaska, while brilliant, a little overrated and I don't think this book gets the praise it deserves. 

Pick a Book You Want to Read Over the Festive Season

Not in any way a festive book, but I really want to pick up a Colleen Hoover novel. I have both Hopeless and Slammed sitting patiently in my tbr pile, along with a host of other new adult books as a result of my love for broken and damaged characters, and I aim to get to at least one over the school holidays.

Pick a Book so Good it Gives You Chills

For this one I'm going to pick a book that I recently read for review and that is Play Of Light by Debra Doxer, a beautifully sweet new adult romance about love that finally had a chance to blossom.

Pick a Book That's on Your Wishlist

As mentioned in previous tags I don't tend to add books to my Christmas list as if I want a book I will just go out and buy it, but a book that's up quite high on my wishlist that I plan to purchase soon is A Constellation Of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra.

Review: Girl Online by Zoe Sugg

3.5/5 Stars

Lets just be honest here, the entire reason I picked up this book was down to the simple fact it was written by Youtuber Zoe Sugg (otherwise known as Zoella) who I absolutely love. I was extremely surprised at giving this book 3.5 stars, as I honestly did not expect that much from it. Honestly, it was full of cliches and incredibly predictable but its the perfect book for breaking up a long series or during a mourning period.

I had no idea GirlOnline would take off the way it has - I can't believe I now have 5432 followers, thanks so much! - and the thought of opening up to you all about this is terrifying, but here goes...Penny has a secret.Under the alias GirlOnline, she blogs about school dramas, boys, her mad, whirlwind family - and the panic attacks she's suffered from lately. When things go from bad to worse, her family whisks her away to New York, where she meets the gorgeous, guitar-strumming Noah. Suddenly Penny is falling in love - and capturing every moment of it on her blog.But Noah has a secret too. One that threatens to ruin Penny's cover - and her closest friendship - forever.

You really need to look at this book for what it is, its a YA novel aimed at 13-17 year old girls, its not going to be amazingly profound. Once you get past that fact its easy to get sucked into the story. When I first started the book I was worried that I wouldn't like it, but its one of those books that takes time to get to the storyline as such. There was a lot of world-building to begin with which I found odd for a contemporary novel as its generally more common in fantasy but once you get past that you're good to go. 

The character of Penny was extremely relatable. I think it probably goes without saying that Girl Online hit a little close to home for me. I mean the protagonist is a teenage Brit who suffers from anxiety, has next to no self esteem, is incapable of talking to members of the opposite sex and blogs. I mean honestly, if my name was in the dictionary that would be it's definition. I have very conflicting ideas of her character though, apart from these anxiety problems and low self esteem, she seems very 'perfect.' But yet on another level I quite like the fact that she has a stable home life, and no other apparent problems in her life as it just shows that you don't have to have led a traumatic life to be faced with these problems. 

The romance between Penny and Noah, yes it was cheesy and yes it was predictable, but it was incredibly sweet and heartwarming. The biggest thing for me with their relationship was how when Penny did something incredibly awkward or embarrassing, Noah would play it off as nothing big or join in and do the same thing. And that is the thing that drew me to him the most. He was such a beautifully written character, more so than Penny in ways.

Girl Online, although a pretty light read, also deals with some more serious issues like bullying, growing up and anxiety; I think readers will really appreciate this added bit of depth that these issues bring to the story. In my personal opinion, this book is more of Zoe reaching out to her viewers to try and inspire them and help them through difficult times as opposed to telling a story. There is a particular part at the end of the book where, although still remaining very true to the character of Penny, it almost feels like Zoe trying to communicate with her viewers through the characters. I really commend Zoe for that, writing something aimed at young girls that tackles the issue of anxiety which is an issue I feel incredibly strongly about. I think its wonderful that she is reaching out to these girls not only in her videos, but has now been given the option to help them via another platform. This book is going to help a lot of teenagers, its going to make them realise that what they're going through isn't so uncommon and it's going to bring them together. I certainly could have done with a book like this when I was younger.

'Tis The Season Book Tag

Back again today with yet another festive book tag. I have another few in the works so keep your eyes peeled for them as well if you, like me, are also ridiculously excited for Christmas! This book tag is again just filled with wonderfully festive questions, and was created by RichardReads over on youtube so go check him out. 

Do you have a favorite winter read?

Yes and it is Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, which I'm pretty sure you are all aware of my obsession with at this point.

Find a book with blue on the cover!

This Is A Love Story by Jessica Thompson

Find a book you’d use as the star on a Christmas tree!

I'm going to go with My True Love Gave To Me, a collection of 12 holiday stories by different authors and edited by Stephanie Perkins. It's just beautiful.

Pick one fictional place that would be perfect for a winter vacation!

Without a doubt it would have to be Hogwarts.

Pick one fictional character you’d take with you on your Winter vacation!

Travis Maddox from Beautiful Disaster. You all must be sick fed up hearing me ramble on about this book constantly but damn I love Travis.

Name one book on your wishlist this year!

I never tend to put books on my christmas list but a book that I have been lusting over for quite some time now is Stitching Snow by R. C. Lewis. I'm a sucker for fairytale retellings.

Favorite holiday drink, treat and movie?

Drink: I love tea in winter but I drink that all year round, but this winter I have been loving orange spiced mochas.

Treat: this time of year I get ridiculously excited about those little weird flavored cheeses that you only seem to get around about Christmas time.

Movie: It would have to be either It's A Wonderful Life, or Deck The Halls. My Christmas movie favorite varies from classy and elegant to horrendously cheesy and everything in between.