2014 End of Year Survey: Part 1.

2014 End of Year Survey is hosted by Jamie at The Perpetual Page-Turner.

I found out about this survey too late last time that it was this year so I've been waiting for it to pop up this year. There are so many questions and I love including covers so  I'm splitting it up into sections.

Part One: Best in Books I

 

Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

I love Lauren Barnholdt and while The Thing About The Truth was good it just wasn''t as good as I'd expected!

 

Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read in 2014? 

Vain  was so much more than I expected it was unexpectedly humbling, informative and entertaining!

 

Best series you started in 2014?

 I picked up Shadow and Bone on a whim and had to nip out on holiday to get Siege! Such an unique and interesting series!

 

Best Sequel of 2014?

I was initially unsure about a sequel to Nantucket Blue but Nantucket Red really adds depth to the characters and the series!

 

Best Series Ender of 2014?

 Addicted After All was a fantastic end to Loren and Lily's story it emphasised how much they'd recovered and matured plus they were babies!

Into the Still Blue ended one of my favourite dystopian series and I loved it!

 

Favourite new author you discovered in 2014?

Ellen Renner's Tribute is a beautifully written medieval style fantasy and I'm looking forward to more from her.

Sarina Bowen writes New Adult with extra depth and the 'drama/trauma' facing her lead characters is consistently a new to me plot!

 

Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2014?

Torn Away is an emotional and refreshing book that asks the questions what happens after the 'worst '? It really made me think about the aftermath of these disasters.

 

Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2014 to finally read? 

 My Life Next Door was on my TBR list for two years! I should of picked it up back in 2012, such a perfect summer book!

 

Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2014?
“I've always loved the first day of school better than the last day of school. Firsts are best because they are beginnings.” ― Jenny Han, To All the Boys I've Loved Before

Lara Jean has a point beginnings are the best!

 

Happy New Year!

 

Much Love!

Lettie

Xxx



 

December Plans!

So I've been very AWOL since starting my teacher training course haven't I? I honestly had plans to be a good blogger and trainee teacher but the reality is I leave for school at 7.30am and get home at 7pm with planning and assignments filling up my time! I'm struggling to figure out this work/study/blog/life balance thing that everyone else seems to have worked out :/
If you have any tips let me know!

However I am currently recovering from Norovirus so I'm housebound for 48 hours and will be trying to write up posts ready for the end of the year!

Much Love!
Lettie
Xxx

Top Ten Tuesday: 2015 Releases

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by: The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's topic: 2015 books I'm Looking Forward To.

2014 has flown by- I can't believe it's time to think about 2015 releases! I've tried not to include debuts or series I included in my last Top Ten post.

I Was Here by Gayle Forman. Gayle Forman wowed me with If I Stay and Where She Went!
Fuel The Fire by Krista and Becca Ritchie. Rose and Connor may just be my favourite Fizzle couple so I'm looking forward to their last book!
The Heir by Kiera Cass. My excitement for this series is well documented so I've for the release date memorised.
The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski. I really enjoyed The Winner's Curse so I'm excited for the follow up.

No Covers!

Asa by Jay Crownover. I love this series and Asa is the most mysterious character!
The Forget-Me-Not Summer by Leila Howland. I enjoyed Nantucket Blue and Nantucket Red so I'm looking forward to more from Leila.
Boy Most Likely To by Huntley Fitzpatrick. I finally read My Life Next Door and I fell in love with Tim and Alice, excited for their story.P.S I Still Love You by Jenny Han. To All The Boys I Loved Before was simply a good book thrilled to get a sequel.
The Gift of Power by Tamora Pierce. Finally Numair's book! I'm a massive Tamora Pierce fan so this was the best news!

What are you looking forward to reading next year?
Much Love!
Lettie
Xxx

October: A Review!

October has been my first month of placement! I was in school in Year 6 for two weeks which included two trips, no pens day and a lot of World War I! I then went back to Uni for 3 days and started working on my first assignment. So all in all October has been jammed packed hence the poor blogging and reading!

 

October in Numbers!

Total posts= 3

Books read= 3

Reviews Posted= 0

 

What I read in October! 

 

October posts!

Cover Love: 2015 covers!
Top Ten Tuesday: New Series!
September: A Review!

 

October Goals...

Pre-Schedule, Reviews and Reading...

Well.... These goals kind of fell to the wayside this month as I mentioned above!  

 

November blogging goals!
Pre-schedule- This is key to my successful blogging and teaching I think. I need to get back on top of it this month.
Reviewing- I now have a big backlog of reviews so fingers crossed I get them out this month. I'm going for aim for a low 4 just in case!

Well November will see some pretty exciting changes on the blog! So be sure to keep a look out!

Much Love!
Lettie
Xxx

Cover Love: 2015 covers!

I've been looking through my TBR and realised a lot of 2015 books have released their gorgeous covers!

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas.
I love how vivid this cover is! Especially the red and the detail on the girl which I feel will be explained in the book. I've been waiting for this series to be published for ages so I'm looking forward to finally reading it!
The Heir by Kiera Cass.
The only thing better than the news of more Selection books is how gorgeous the cover for Heir is. I did a whole post on how much I love The Selection covers and The Heir fits in perfectly. The crown has remained and the dress has slightly altered signalling the change of protagonist. So excited to add this to my shelf!
The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski.
I don't think I've mentioned how much I love The Winner's Curse but it is definitely one of my favourites of 2014 and I love the connection between the titles. This cover follows the theme of Winner's Curse which is also beautiful. The dress is stunning and I love the inclusion of a sword because I feel Kestrel will need to fight! The typography is slightly altered but it all goes together so well

So excited by these covers!
What covers have you excited for 2015?

Much Love!
Lettie
Xxx

Top Ten Tuesday: New Series!

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by: The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's topic: New Series I Want To Start

I have a serious series problem! However I'm always on the lookout for new ones.

Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson.

Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff.

The Raven Boys by Maggie Steifvater.

These series are almost finished so there will be no agonising wait for the next instalment. I just need to get started....
 

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman.

The Diviners by Libba Bray.

These two I already own but the second books haven't been published so I'm justifying putting them off until it's published.
 

2015 Releases!

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

The Dregs by Leigh Bardugo.

The Gift of Power by Tamora Pierce.

Thunder Road by Katie McGarry.

The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows.

Most of these are by some of my favourite authors so I'm super excited to explore their new worlds. The Orphan Queen has a beautiful cover and a great blurb. A Court of Thorns and Roses has been on my radar for years so thrilled it's getting published.

 

What series are you looking to start?

Much Love!

Lettie

Xxx

September: A Review!

Monthly Feature- rounds up all the books I've read, progress on challenges and monthly blogging goals!
 
I'm keeping up with my monthly reviews! September's been a pretty successful month for this year!

September in Numbers!

Total posts= 12

Books read= 6

Reviews Posted= 4

 

What I read in September!

 

September reviews!

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick.

Biggest Flirt by Jennifer Echols
Nantucket Red by Leila Howland.
Right of Way by Lauren Barnholdt

September posts!

Cover Love: UK vs US Comparisons.

Top Ten Tuesday: Autumn TBR!

Goodbye Summer!

Summer Bingo Wrap Up!

Fantasy Flashback Friday: Tamora Pierce
Cover Love: Stunning Series So Far!
Sneak Peeks!
August: A Review.
Challenge Update 3

 

September Goals...

Pre-Schedule- Yay! My prescheduling has worked this month! I think my blog has actually been better than August....

Social Media~ Whoops! Not so good. Mainly because I can only connect my phone and netbook to the Uni internet and my blog social media is on my tablet...

Reviews~ More reviews! Not quite 6 but that was an ambitious goal!

 
October blogging goals!

• Pre-Schedule- I just want to keep this up and hopefully make it a routine.
• Reviews- I'm hoping for a realistic 4 as I'm starting my first placement!
• Reading- I need to make a conscious effort to read more. Without my morning bus journey and solo lunch break (downside of a small office!) I've lost my reading time! Plus I have so many PGCE readings that my evenings are taken up. So I'm going to aim to read 6 books again!

How was your September?

Looking forward to Autumn?

Much Love!

Lettie.

Xxx