6 Books I Own But Haven’t Read Yet

I think I have mentioned recently on this blog that I have, only in the last few months, got back into reading. That doesn’t mean I stopped buying books though! So I thought I would compile a list of books that I have had for over a year (one for 9+ years!), enough so I can add one a month to my TBR. Here we go…

1. My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

I have had this maybe 11 months (not quite a year I know) and I honestly bought this because the cover looked INCREDIBLE and it is described as a hybrid of the movies Beaches and The Exorcist which sounds amazing. I believe it is a YA Horror that was published in 2016.

Goodreads description – A heartwarming story of friendship and demonic possession. The year is 1988. High school sophomores Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since fourth grade. But after an evening of skinny-dipping goes disastrously wrong, Gretchen begins to act…different. She’s moody. She’s irritable. And bizarre incidents keep happening whenever she’s nearby. Abby’s investigation leads her to some startling discoveries–and by the time their story reaches its terrifying conclusion, the fate of Abby and Gretchen will be determined by a single question: Is their friendship powerful enough to beat the devil? Like an unholy hybrid of Beaches and The Exorcist, My Best Friend’s Exorcism blends teen angst, adolescent drama, unspeakable horrors, and a mix of ’80s pop songs into a pulse-pounding supernatural thriller.

2. I Heart New York by Lindsey Kelk

In complete contrast to the book above is this funny romantic debut novel. I read another of Kelk’s books, What A Girl Wants, and I really enjoyed it so I was hoping this would be a similar lighthearted read, but i just never got around to it.

Goodreads description – Get ready to meet Angela Clark as she flees the world’s worst wedding for a new life…
It’s official. Angela Clarke is in love – with the most fabulous city in the world.
Fleeing her cheating boyfriend and clutching little more than a crumpled bridesmaid dress, a pair of Louboutins and her passport, Angela jumps on a plane, destination – NYC.
Holed up in a cute hotel room, Angela gets a New York makeover from her NBF Jenny and a whirlwind tour of the city that never sleeps. Before she knows it, Angela is dating two sexy guys. And, best of all, she gets to write about it in her new blog (Carrie Bradshaw eat your heart out). But it’s one thing telling readers about your romantic dilemmas, it’s another figuring them out for yourself …
Angela has fallen head over heels for the big apple, but does she heart New York more than home?

3. Not That Kind Of Girl – Lena Dunham

I used to be obsessed with Dunham’s TV show Girls. I bought this book because I enjoyed her sense of humour on the show and thought I would enjoy reading this. I remember it being controversial when it came out but I want to judge for myself. She is an outspoken feminist which I respect and hope she wrote about in this book.

Goodreads description – “There is nothing gutsier to me than a person announcing that their story is one that deserves to be told,” writes Lena Dunham, and it certainly takes guts to share the stories that make up her first book, Not That Kind of Girl. These are stories about getting your butt touched by your boss, about friendship and dieting (kind of) and having two existential crises before the age of 20. Stories about travel, both successful and less so, and about having the kind of sex where you feel like keeping your sneakers on in case you have to run away during the act. Stories about proving yourself to a room of 50-year-old men in Hollywood and showing up to “an outlandishly high-fashion event with the crustiest red nose you ever saw.” Fearless, smart, and as heartbreakingly honest as ever, Not That Kind of Girl establishes Lena Dunham as more than a hugely talented director, actress and producer-it announces her as a fresh and vibrant new literary voice. 

4. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

I was going through all of the books on my kindle and I don’t even remember buying this one! I’ve heard very mixed reviews from people about this series so I am interested to know what you thought if you have read this. I do love getting into a series when there are already a few sequels (i’m very impatient lol) so will give this a go soon.

Goodreads description – Feyre’s survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak place in the long winter months. So when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator and killing something so precious comes at a price …

5. Only Ever Yours – Louise O’Neill

I went into Waterstones 3 years ago to buy a book that I hoped would kick start my love for reading again. I got a chapter into this I think, put it down and just never picked it up again. I absolutely loved the premise so I’m really excited about getting around to reading this…finally.

Goodreads description – In a world in which baby girls are no longer born naturally, women are bred in schools, trained in the arts of pleasing men until they are ready for the outside world. At graduation, the most highly rated girls become “companions”, permitted to live with their husbands and breed sons until they are no longer useful.
For the girls left behind, the future – as a concubine or a teacher – is grim.
Best friends Freida and Isabel are sure they’ll be chosen as companions – they are among the most highly rated girls in their year.
But as the intensity of final year takes hold, Isabel does the unthinkable and starts to put on weight. ..
And then, into this sealed female environment, the boys arrive, eager to choose a bride.
Freida must fight for her future – even if it means betraying the only friend, the only love, she has ever known. . .

6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

I have loved every television and movie adaptation I have seen of Jane Eyre but I have never read the book, I am a terrible human being I know. I have owned this book for maybe 9 years and not read it!!!! Time to change that.

Goodreads description – Charlotte Brontë tells the story of orphaned Jane Eyre, who grows up in the home of her heartless aunt, enduring loneliness and cruelty. This troubled childhood strengthens Jane’s natural independence and spirit – which prove necessary when she finds employment as a governess to the young ward of Byronic, brooding Mr Rochester. As her feelings for Rochester develop, Jane gradually uncovers Thornfield Hall’s terrible secret, forcing her to make a choice. Should she stay with Rochester and live with the consequences, or follow her convictions – even if it means leaving the man she loves? A novel of intense power and intrigue, Jane Eyre dazzled readers with its passionate depiction of a woman’s search for equality and freedom. 

There we have it 6 books, 6 months left and a lot of reading to do. These 6 will be mixed into my TBR lists from July onward – but which one should I start with first?

Anya x

King’s Cage by Victoria Aveyard Review

3.75*

It’s been a busy week with lots of extra shifts at work and celebrations for the royal wedding but I did manage to finish King’s Cage.

If I’m honest I really struggled reading this book, unlike the first and second book in the Red Queen series I found the pace of the story quite slow and I think this affected the pace at which I read it. With Glass Sword it took maybe 50% of the book before it really got started and with King’s Cage I would say this was closer to 75%. This isn’t to say that the first three-quarters of the book were bad because it wasn’t, it was just a slow build.

I particularly enjoyed the character progression of Maven. At the end of Glass Sword the only thing I felt for him was pure hatred but now I feel so conflicted. He was made into a monster by his mother and now I pity him but I also can’t forgive him.

A stand out change from the 2nd installment to this one was the alternating POV. I found that Cameron’s voice felt different enough from Mare’s, however, Evangeline’s felt too similar to me. Evangeline is one of my favourite characters and I felt like her character was somehow going backwards in King’s cage. I understand that in the final book in this series we will be getting even more characters perspectives so I am hoping that their voices are unique enough to differentiate.

I am really over the Cal and Mare I love you, no, I hate you, wait I love you, storyline. The first time it may have worked but now it’s just too overdone. I understand that characters are not supposed to be perfect, that we all have flaws and so should they, but their ‘romance’ is not so believable at the moment.

I really want to enjoy this series and the majority of the time I do but Mare and her ego are irritating me. I will, of course, be reading the final installment of this series because I am excited for this story to come together, I just hope, and beg, that I will get the ending this series deserves.

Scythe by Neal Shusterman Book Review

4.75* Wow, just wow!

Hope in the shadow of fear is the world’s most powerful motivator.

In Neal Shusterman’s Scythe, we all live in a world with no disease, no war, and no death; we are immortal. Because of this the earth is becoming overcrowded and Scythes are responsible for gleaning, essentially killing, random members of the population to combat this.

After both Rowan and Citra encounter Scythe Faraday they are offered scythe apprenticeships where they learn the physical, emotional and intellectual skills they will need, but only one will receive their Scythe ring at the end of the year. Neither of them wants it but one of them will get it.

This book has taken me on a complete rollercoaster and I absolutely loved it. Never have a read a book that left me debating my own morality as much as Scythe. Would I want to be a Scythe? Would I be a good Scythe? Or would I be one of the sycophants sucking up to the Scythes in the hope of a short immunity? I don’t know but I have loved thinking about it!

Citra and Rowan’s character development was truly a work of art. Citra’s loyalty and Rowan’s harrowing internal conflict made them so believable. Scythe Goddard was truly despicable, I hated him with such a passion I forgot he was words on a page.

I enjoyed the pace of the book, I think my only complaint about this book would be the cringey so-called romance. Hormones tend to send people crazy, especially teenagers, but sometimes in Scythe it bordered on the ridiculous.

Would I recommend reading this, you’re damn right I would!

As I showed you in my Book Haul I have already bought the next book in the series. I’m going to try and be patient and read something else in between but I can see the next book out of the corner of my eye and it’s calling me.