Read in 2020

So 2020 was a crap year for many reasons one being COVID-19 however because of COVID-19 I was able to surpass my goal of reading 35 books and I read 50. Most of my reads in 2020 were rereads due to not being able to go to the library and me not wanting to buy more books until I had read the ones I already own.

Heres what I read in 2020:

1. Flashpoint by Tara Ellis and Mike Kraus
2. Web of Lies by Elizabeth Knox et el
3. The Dark Kingdom Anthology by Krissy V et el
4. Lady and the Biker by Glenna Maynard
5. Blush For Me by M. K. Moore
6. Kickflip Summer by Danielle Jacks
7. Smoulder by Tara Ellis and Mike Kraus
8. Hide and Seek by AJ Everheart
9. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
10. Grandad's Girl by Emma Louise
11. Can I Let You Go? by Cathy Glass
12. Fallout by Tara Ellis and Mike Kraus
13. Evermore by Alyson Noel
14. The Society by Michelle Brown
15. Decay by Tara Ellis and Mike Kraus
16. Empowerment by Alice La Roux
17. Girl on Point by Chloe Lukasiak
18. Convergence by Tara Ellis and Mike Kraus
19. Master by Alice La Roux
20. Mercy by Tara Ellis and Mike Kraus
21. Barren by Yolanda Olson
22. Matus by Jason Hes
23. Matatus by Ally Vance
24. Blue Moon by Alyson Noel
25. Inhuman Behavior by Faith Ryan
26. Shadowland by Alyson Noel
27. Pins and Needles by Ashleigh Giannoccaro
28. Coquette by A. A. Davies
29. Dark Flame by Alyson Noel
30. Night Star by Alyson Noel
31. Everlasting by Alyson Noel
32. Radiance by Alyson Noel
33. The Orphans by Martina McAtee
34. Shimmer by Alsyon Noel
35. Shade by Mere Joyce
36. The Friendship by Alison Croggon
37. Wicked Mourning by Heather Boyd
38. Haunted by Willow Cross
39. The Vampire Hunter's Daughter by Jennifer Malone Wright
40. The Dinosaur that Pooped Christmas by Tom Fletcher
41. The Dinosaur that Pooped a Pirate by Tom Fletcher
42. Dreamland by Alyson Noel
43. Elbow Grease: Get out and Play by John Cena
44. Elbow Grease: My Monster Truck Family by John Cena
45. 52 Reasons to Hate My Father by Jessica Brody
46. Heist Society by Ally Carter
47. Whisper by Alyson Noel
48. Double Crossed by Ally Carter
49. Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter
50. Perfect Scoundrels by Ally Carter

My goal for 2021 is 40, I know I can read more that that I proved it this year but I'm hopinglife goes back to being 'normal' again which means I will be going back to work as well as having college and university this year.

I hope you all get to do plenty of reading in 2021 and you all stay safe x

To Read in December

As I have completed my Goodreads challenge of 30 I have picked 3 book to read this month off my shelf as college is closed for 2 weeks and I won't be able to get some books from the library or maybe not be able to take them back on time but if I do get some from the library I'll post what I've got.

I still do my beta reading, I have University and College.

This month off my shelf I picked:

1. The Christmasaurus by Tom Fletcher
2. The Bone Thief by Alyson Noel
3. Someday, Someday Maybe by Lauren Graham

To Read in November

As I have completed my Goodreads challenge of 30 I have picked 1 book to read this month off my shelf and then I'll pick others from the library and when I've picked them up I'll post what I've got.

I still do my beta reading, I have University and College.

This month off my shelf I picked:

1. Addie Bell's Shortcut to Growing Up by Jessica Brody

To Read in October

To keep up with my Goodreads challenge of 30 I have picked 2 books to read this month.

Just because I have set these 2 books for this month that does not mean that I will finish all of the books on the list as I do beta reading and College.

This month I have picked:

1. Faking 19 by Alyson Noel
2. The Chaos of Standing Still by Jessica Brody

To Read in September

To keep up with my Goodreads challenge of 30 I only need to read 2 books to read this month.

Just because I have set these 2 books for this month that does not mean that I will finish all of the books on the list as I do beta reading and College.

This month I have picked:

1. Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyers
2. A New Witch in Town (the Other Side of the Moon) by Dani Corlee

To Read in August

To keep up with my Goodreads challenge of 30 I have picked 3 books to read this month.

Just because I have set these books for this month that does not mean that I will finish all of the books on the list as I do beta reading.

This month I have picked:

1. Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer
2. A New Witch in Town (Not to Mention the Cat) by Dani Corlee
3. Fly me to the Moon by Alyson Noel

To Read in July

To keep up with my Goodreads challenge of 30 I have picked 2 books to read this month.

Just because I have set these 2 books for this month that does not mean that I will finish all of the books on the list as I do beta reading.

This month I have picked:

1. New Moon by Stephanie Meyer
2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K Rowling

To Read in June

To keep up with my Goodreads challenge of 30 I have picked 2 books to read this month.

Just because I have set these 2 books for this month that does not mean that I will finish all of the books on the list as I do beta reading and I have College.

This month I have picked:

1. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling
2. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

Review - The Secrets of Sanctuary by Tara Ellis

Title: The Secret of Sanctuary

Author: Tara Ellis

Series: The Samantha Wolf Series #11

Pages: 

Release Date: May 15th 2019

Format: Kindle Edition

Buy it: Amazon

Add it: Goodreads

Synopsis: The mountains of Sanctuary are hiding a secret...

A camping trip takes an unexpected turn when Sam and her friends encounter some strange things in the woods. An archeological dig near the campground starts off as intriguing, but it's soon apparent to Sam that things aren't what they seem.

With a local legend to unravel, Sam, Ally, and the rest of the gang delve into a mystery that reaches far into the past. Solving it will take more than simply revealing the truth. It'll require a tenacity that only Sam can wield and the help of her friends to see it through to the end.

My Review: This chapter in the Samantha Wolf series see’s Sam, Ally, Cassy, John, Hunter and Lisa visiting a campground in Sanctuary.

This mystery is a crossover with Ms Ellis’ Cozy Mystery series so we see characters from that series in this one also. We meet main characters Ember, Mel and Nathan.

Sam and her friends are holidaying in Sanctuary and just happen to stumble upon a mystery after meeting a Professor who is working on an archaeological dig in the campgrounds surrounding woods after he uncovered an effigy.

While visiting the dig a local shows up and tells the kids about a legend which peaks Sam’s interest but she doesn’t want to get into trouble so she tried to forget about it.

The group invited over the Professor and his students for a camp fire where Hunter reads a story from the book Sam picked up from town and Sam reads a small paragraph to Ally from an interesting chapter while everyone is discussing the effigy, the next morning Sam cannot find the book.

The next day while on a hike Cassy spots two mean ducking into the woods off a small trail so Sam follows them and confirms to Ally and Cassy that she had seen them in the town the day they arrived in Sanctuary.

Surprisingly John and Cassy encourage Sam to continue to investigate the mystery instead of telling her to drop it. Sam is happy that they are with her but she doesn’t want to get into trouble with Lisa.

While at the towns rodeo Sam see’s Malory one of the dig students and she John and Ally follow her and almost get hurt by a bucking horse luckily John pushed the girls out of the way and Ember shows up and is able to stop the horse.

While off for a shower that night the girls see Malory go into the woods so they decide to follow her and they end up on the trail that they saw the two men go down, while watching they see Malory being taken by the men and as they are about to leave to get help Rocky runs off so Sam and Ally go after Rocky while Cassy runs back to camp to get help.

Although Sam and Ally try not to get caught they end up being caught and threatened along with Malory and the local man. Luckily Nathan and the sheriff come to their rescue just in time.

I really enjoyed this crossover and I am hoping for another crossover but mainly a Cozy Mystery one instead of Samantha Wolf but with an appearance from Sam, Ally and the gang.

Currently Reading: Descent by Tara Ellis

Read in 2019: 11/30

Review - To the Dark Room of Souls by David McMullen-Sullivan

Title: To the Dark Room of Souls

Author: David McMullen-Sullivan

Series: Moorehead Manor #3

Pages: 371

Release Date: September 22nd 2018

Format: Kindle Edition

Buy it: Amazon

Add it: Goodreads

Synopsis: The evil that has been trapped in the Moorehead houses walks free, seeking its revenge, and Emily, Adam and Jimmy must fight one last time for their lives.

In order to defeat the black magic, they must trace it to its source, but the trail leads to the greatest evil of all. Are they strong enough to win the battle, or has their luck run out?

My Review: The 3rd and final book in the Moorehead Manor series was great, it focused a lot more on Emily compared to the others which was nice, you can see how much she has grown as a character since book one.

Emily and Jimmy are now married and trying to have a child, they have good jobs and Adam is working as a resident in a hospital while secretly crushing on a classmate.

Emily goes to visit Mr McMannis from book 2 to see if he had any updates on finding the rest of the houses that were cursed, he informs her of one he had found and tells he what he is going to do with that house but she is not happy and she takes it upon herself to destroy the house how she believes it should be done.

While trying to burn down the house she gets stuck inside the house and sees visions and Jimmy and Adam come to her rescue.

While at work in the hospital Adam is tasked to take a body down to the morgue where the dead body comes to life and attacks him.

The three along with Mr McMannis help to get rid of the evil once and for all, while doing so Emily gets visited from a spirit boy who explains why he is there and that something is happening to him and the other child spirits that are trapped, Emily asks the boy to find out anything about the man who trapped their souls.

After sometime Emily is revisited by the spirit boy who she eventually names Daniel who has come to warn her to be ready for some visions. At first these visions come one at a time until asks for them all to come as she does not have enough time if they come one at a time every so often as she needs to find out how to help the trapped souls due to an interfering woman. Emily manages to find the Dark Room of Souls but she also leads the woman right to them.

I am really sad that this series is over and I wished that Mr McMullen-Sullivan had wrote a book about each house but when I asked him why he hadn’t he said that it would just be dragging the story out and he didn’t want his readers to get bored.

I enjoyed this series and I defiantly recommend the series.

Currently Reading: The Birth of Vengeance by P. A. Ross

Read in 2019: 10/30

Review - Sleepless by Melissa Frost

Title: Sleepless

Author: Melissa Frost

Series: Tales from Esteria Book 3

Pages: 71 pages

Release Date: August 8th 2018

Format: Kindle Edition

Buy it: Amazon

Add it: Goodreads

Synopsis: This Sleeping Beauty won't take things lying down...

After being shoved from a high castle balcony into the moat below, Princess Talia searches for the man responsible for saving her from certain death. After much digging, she is surprised to find that her rescuer is none other than an outlaw named Phillip Aurora—an enemy to the crown. Once she tracks Phil to the castle dungeons and helps break him out, the two unlikely allies must band together to take down the crime lord responsible for the attempt on her life.

As the two battle bandits and take on impossible odds together, Talia finds herself falling for the rogue at her side. If they can survive the challenges in front of them, perhaps she’ll be able to put to the test that they aren’t all that different after all. 

My Review: This story was told by a Princess of Esteria named Talia. It is a spin on Sleeping Beauty.

Princess Talia gets pushed from a castle balcony into a moat. The intention was to kill her but she was rescued by a stranger to her but he is actually a wanted criminal and an enemy to the crown Phillip, when Phillip saves her they share a kiss.

Talia falls into a long sleep after the fall and when she wakes she remembers kissing the stranger and she asks her father for the name of the person who saved her so she can thank him personally, he sends her on a wild goose chase so Talia decides to start kissing everyone until she finally finds out he’s being held in the dungeons.

Talia breaks Phillip out of the dungeon and the two team up to go after the person who tried to kill her.

While searching for her attempted killer Talia and Phillip start to fall for each other.

There is a big surprise twist at the end that even surprised me but I liked it.

Sleeping Beauty is my all-time favourite Fairy Tale so when I saw that the third instalment in this series was from Sleeping Beauty’s POV I was a little sceptical but I enjoyed it.

Currently Reading: The Birth of Vengeance by P. A. Ross

Read in 2019: 10/30

Review - Anastasia: Story of an Ugly Stepsister by Melissa Frost

Title: Anastasia: Diary of an Ugly Stepsister

Author: Melissa Frost

Series: Tales From Esteria #2

Pages: 112

Release Date: December 20th 2017

Format: Kindle

Buy it: Amazon

Add it: Goodreads

Synopsis: Anastasia has no idea about the changes that have happened while she’s been away in Germany in a student exchange program. While she’s been studying computer courses and first aid classes, her sisters have been battling mythological creatures from another dimension, and it’s a secret they’re not sharing. Annie feels like she doesn’t know Drusilla anymore. Cinderella has become an invasive presence despite her open hatred of her stepsisters before Annie’s trip. And the new next-door neighbor has edged his way into their lives despite her protests.

Anastasia is determined to get to the bottom of the mysterious events happening around her, but the things she uncovers become more and more shocking. Her crush is from another dimension. Cinderella has a fairy godmother and is on speaking terms with a real, live prince. Gnomes exist and live in her backyard.

What is she willing to risk to open herself up to an unimaginable experience and possibly a romance that’s literally out of this world? Is she prepared to handle the truth and the dangers that come with it? The only thing she knows for certain is that life will never be the same.

My Review: This spin on Cinderella was told by Anastasia one of the ‘evil’ stepsisters. Anastasia ‘Annie’ – Drusilla’s twin sister – has just come back from her time in Germany. Annie is angry with her sister for leaving her stranded at the airport while she was off with Ella.

At first Ella and Drusilla try to keep Annie in the dark about the mysterious portal but she gets suspicious and follows them to see why her twin who she was so close to before her trip is now keeping things from her and why she is now so friendly with Ella but when she finds out their secret she is shocked to say the least.

Annie see’s something strange and she faints, when she is told what had happened her sister explains to her that she kept it secret as she knew she would react that way.

Annie ends up falling for the new neighbour’s younger brother who is just as much a tech geek as she is.

When Annie finds out her sisters secret she joins them on a mission which ends up going very badly for her and her sister boyfriend gets injured.

This story was nice and short, I would recommend it to anyone who has read the first one, loves a quick read and loves Fairy Tales. I cannot wait to see if Anastasia starts to get used to the fighting of magical creatures and if her relationship progresses. I would also like to see if Ella can manage to convince the Prince of Esteria to marry her.

Currently Reading: The Birth of Vengeance by P. A. Ross

Read in 2019: 10/30

Review - Drusilla: Story of an Ugly Stepsister by Melissa Frost

Title: Drusilla: Story of an Ugly Stepsister

Author: Melissa Frost

Series: Tales From Esteria #1

Pages: 139

Release Date: December 21st 2016

Format: Kindle Edition

Buy it: Amazon

Add it: Goodreads

Synopsis: What if Cinderella isn’t the sweet and tortured angel everyone believes? Instead, what if she's the most popular girl at school who is hell bent on making sure her ugly stepsister doesn’t stand in the way of her popularity? A new story unfolds through the eyes of Drusilla...

Being sisters with bright and beautiful Ella is an unending nightmare for Drusilla. That is until the sisters accidentally open a portal to another dimension. The unlikely duo is forced to team up against a swarm of angry sprites, a clan of territorial gnomes, and a few other unlikely creatures. Their new portal comes with a fairy godmother, and there's even a bona fide fairy tale prince up for grabs. It might take impossible odds to bring these two together, but it’s a story that proves even the ugly stepsister can sometimes be the hero.

My Review: As you know I love my spin on Fairy Tales and this one was just as good if not better than other that I have read previously. This spin on Cinderella was told by Drusilla one of the ‘evil’ stepsisters.

After a fight Cinderella ‘Ella’ and Drusilla end up in their back garden when Ella throws a shoe towards the lake at the back of their home in a temper tantrum and accidentally opens up a mysterious portal to another realm that has not been open for a long, long time.

Ella and Drusilla are made guardians of the portal on their side of the portal guided by a fairy godmother that just magically appears whenever the girls are needed to solve a situation. Not only do they get a fairy godmother but they get some of the kings guards come through the portal to help them out. These guards are trained in fighting with one being a tech geek, one being nice and bubbly and the other being very serious.

The two end up fighting sprite’s, helping Gnomes find a new home and more, this task ends up with the two becoming closer and Drusilla more confidant.

Currently Reading: The Birth of Vengeance by P. A. Ross

Read in 2019: 10/30

To Read in May

To keep up with my Goodreads challenge of 30 I have picked 2 books to read this month.

Just because I have set these 2 books for this month I may not finish them as I do beta reading, I have College and I have an essay to do for University.

This month I have picked:

1. Laguna Cove by Alyson Noel
2. In Some Other Life by Jessica Brody

To Read in April

To keep up with my Goodreads challenge of 30 I have picked 2 books to read this month.

Just because I have set these 2 books for this month that does not mean that I will finish all of the books on the list as I do beta reading and I have College and University.

This month I have picked:

1. Descent by Tara Ellis
2. To The Dark Room of Souls by David McMullan-Sullivan

To Read in March

To keep up with my Goodreads challenge of 30 I have picked 3 books to read this month.

Just because I have set these 3 books for this month I may not finish them as I do beta reading, I have College and I have an essay to do for University.

This month I have picked:

1. Drusilla: Story of an Ugly Step Sister by Melissa Frost
2. Anastasia: Story of an Ugly Step Sister by Melissa Frost
3. Sleepless: Diary of an Ugly Stepsister by Melissa Frost

To Read in February

To keep up with my Goodreads challenge of 30 I have picked 2 books to read this month.

Just because I have set these 2 books for this month that does not mean that I will finish all of the books on the list as I do beta reading and I have College and University.

This month I have picked:

1. Return to Hollow Inn by Tara Ellis
2. Art Geeks and Prom Queens by Alyson Noel

To Read in January

To keep up with my Goodreads challenge of 30 I have picked 2 books to read this month, these books finish off series I started last year.

Just because I have set these 2 books for this month that does not mean that I will finish all of the books on the list as I do beta reading and I have College and University.

This month I have picked:

1. Heritage by Tara Ellis
2. Haven: Revenge of the Viper by D.C Akers

Wow its 2019 already, last year went by so fast and so much stuff happened.

I quit my job at the beginning of the year and started going to college to study Criminology, Spanish and Creative Writing. In March a teacher and friend made me see a doctor and I was diagnosed with depression because my ex broke up with me and left me heartbroken as it wasn't something I wanted, he left me just before my 30th birthday (in 2017) during this time I stopped reading and I thought that I was never going to reach my Goodreads goal and I started back off reading all the time and I was on track to reaching my goal.
     Then in August my dad passed away, he was the best person ever and meant everything to me as I am a proper daddy's girl, this made my depression worse. My brother was being a jerk, 4 hours after I had found my dad dead he called asking for something and he is constantly asking my sister and myself for something, every time he contacts us and if it wasn't for his kids I would tell him to leave me alone, I don't want anything else to do with him. I went back to see the doctor in November and she increased my medication. After my dads death it didn't affect my reading much if anything I was reading more but as my depression got worse so did my reading.
     My dads death made me realise life is to short and I should try harder to achieve what I want, and that I should stop the petty arguing with my sister, and touch wood we haven't fallen out for months even though we've spent so much time together.
     I started my second year of my University course so that I can become a teacher, I am doing the course with my sister and we have 4 more years left after this one finishes in June. My sister and I both started College we joined Basic Skills in Maths and Sociology. We picked these free courses mainly so we could join the gym cheaper.
     I joined the gym in September but I hardly went and have not managed to lose any weight, if anything I have put weight on because I have been to depressed to do anything and I have been eating too much junk food, takeaways and fizzy pop.

Now in 2019 I have decided that I am going to stop drinking fizzy pop, cut down on my takeaways and junk food and go to the gym more regularly as well as moving into my own place. It also means that it's a New Year which means the start of a new reading challenge so I have to set myself a Goodreads goal. I have thought very hard about my challenge and what books I'm going to read this year, I have decided that I am going to stick to 35 as it is a good number especially around my University and College work.

     I have also decided that I am going to finally get round to read all those series that I've been putting off year after year, I will be starting by finishing off the Harry Potter series and then reading series like Twilight, Divergent, The Lunar Chronicles and the Gallagher Girls.

     Amongst these series I want to read all of my Alyson Noel, Jessica Brody, Tara Ellis-Meyers and Cathy Glass books that I have yet to read.

To Read in December

I have picked 5 books this month and again just because I have set 5 books for this month that does not mean that I will finish all of the books on the list as I do beta reading and my college course starts this month.

This month I have picked.

1. Descent by Tara Ellis
2. Laguna Cove by Alyson Noel
3. Enchanted by Alethea Kontis
4. Addie Bell's Shortcut to Growing Up by Jessica Brody
5. The Christmasaurus by Tom Fletcher