Playing Catch Up...

It's been a while since I posted any reviews or taken part in my usual book memes. Real life has gotten in the way some what. All good things though which is always a bonus. Since my last post I have purchased, borrowed and received many books. And I've read quite a few too. So, in this post I am going to give a quick run down of these books to incorporate my Mailbox Monday and WWW Wednesdays book memes.

Here are the books which made it in to my house over the last few weeks:

Kindle Purchases:


NetGalley Books for Review:


What are you currently reading?

I am currently reading my first Robert McCammon book, Swan Song. It's a real whopper at 856 pages. It is set in a post-nuclear-apocalyptic world with some supernatural elements thrown in to the mix. I am really liking the writing style and there are some great characters. It's pretty bleak as you'd expect when life as you know it goes down the pan. I'm nearly half way through it. I will definitely be reading more of McCammon's books in the future.

What have you read recently?

I've read quite a number of books since I last posted. My most recently read book was a firm favourite of mine, Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Many of my Goodreads friends had read it and rated it 5 stars so I've wanted to read it for a while now. I decided to treat myself to the book with some money I got for my birthday. I read it as a buddy read which I am glad of as I got to discuss and reminisce over the 80s popular culture references throughout the book. I will post my review soon.

I read Horns by Joe Hill, one of my favourite authors, in preparation for the film release. The book was fantastic, although I'm yet to go to the cinema and see it.

I also read a horror classic for Halloween - Ghost Story by Peter Straub. This was my first book by Straub. I thought the book was pretty slow in pace but it still had me captivated which is quite unusual for me. I will certainly check out his other books though.

Another favourite recent read was Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz. I have read a large proportion of Koontz's work and this book is a great start to the series. I've already bought the follow up book for it. I do love it when I find a series I like that has already quite a number of books in it to work through.

Another classic was Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice which I thought I had better read as I received it for my birthday last year and a year has already flown by. I profess to loving anything vampire so it's quite embarrassing that I have never read this book before (I've seen the film though). I did enjoy it, loved the writing style but it was quite slow in pace.

And finally, I read The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. This is a fantastic book - I wish I had been a kid when it came out to experience it with childhood imagination and wonder.

What will you be reading next?
I've pretty much finished all my book challenges for the year so after I've finished Swan Song, I am going to read something fun I think. I've got quite a number of NetGalley books to read and review but also I would like to read some of my dead tree books so they can go off to the charity shop so I have one less book to pack when I move house. Decisions, decisions!

Have you read any of these? And what did you think?

Mailbox Monday - 13th Oct

Mailbox Monday is a book meme which is hosted by Marcia at Mailbox Monday blog.

In this post, you can see which books I have bought, received for review, or borrowed this past week.

I've been trying desperately not to buy any books this week but a few managed to sneak their way on to my kindle. Here is what made it in to my house:

Personal Purchases:


Library Audiobooks:

Have you read any of these? If so, what did you think? If not, do any of them take your fancy?

Mailbox Monday - 6th Oct

Mailbox Monday is a book meme which is hosted by Marcia at Mailbox Monday blog. I haven't participated in a couple weeks mainly because I have been so busy but also I've not bought any books! Has to be a record!

As you may have noticed, I've also changed how I'm titling my Mailbox Monday posts - I was just numbering them but I've decided to stop that now and just use the date.

In this post, you can see which books I have bought, received for review, or borrowed this past week.

I've been trying desperately not to buy any books this week but a few managed to sneak their way on to my kindle. Here is what made it in to my house:

Personal Purchases:


NetGalley Books for Review:

Have you read any of these? If so, what did you think? If not, do any of them take your fancy?

Mailbox Monday (10)

Mailbox Monday is a book meme which is hosted by Marcia at Mailbox Monday blog.

In this post, you can see which books I have bought, received for review, or borrowed this past week.

I've been trying desperately not to buy any books this week but a few managed to sneak their way on to my kindle. Here is what made it in to my house:

Personal Purchases:


Mitosis is a pre-order which isn't released until November so it's not technically made it in to my house yet.

Library Books Borrowed:

Have you read any of these? If so, what did you think? If not, do any of them take your fancy?

Mailbox Monday (9)

Mailbox Monday is a book meme which is hosted by Marcia at Mailbox Monday blog.

In this post, you can see which books I have bought, received for review, or borrowed this past week.

This has been an exciting week for books as I won one! And I also got hold of a book through NetGalley which I have been really looking forward to. That always cheers me up! Here is what made it in to my house:

Personal Purchases:

Free Books

I received The Lost Empress through NetGalley. It's part of a series about a Genealogist who solves mysteries and I have thoroughly enjoyed the other books in the series. I was really excited about this book and it is due out around my birthday so I was going to treat myself to it but then I saw it on NetGalley and now I can spend my pennies on another book instead.

The Magician's Lie I also received through NetGalley - it said it was for fans of Water for Elephants and The Night Circus, both of which I really liked. And the most exciting thing of all...I won Acceptance on Goodreads. It is the third book in the Southern Reach Trilogy. So I HAD to buy book two, Authority (see above), so I could carry on with the series.

Library Books Borrowed:

Have you read any of these? If so, what did you think? If not, do any of them take your fancy?

Mailbox Monday (8)

Mailbox Monday is a book meme which is hosted by Marcia at Mailbox Monday blog.

Basically, we have to make a post featuring the books which we bought, received for review, or loaned this past week.

For a while I thought I wasn't going to have anything to report in this week's Mailbox Monday but a Kindle Daily Deal and a NetGalley request came through at the last minute! Here is what made it in to my house:

Personal Purchases:


I haven't read any books by McCammon before but a lot of my friends on Goodreads rave about him and he is recommended by Stephen King so I think I will like him. Unfortunately all of his books are really long and have generally been quite expensive which has put me off buying them but this one appeared on a Kindle Daily Deal for £1.29 this week and I thought it was too good to miss out on. I might allocate it as my Halloween read!

Swan Song: View on Amazon || View on Goodreads

Books for Review on NetGalley:


Everything I Never Told You: View on Amazon || View on Goodreads

Have you read any of these? If so, what did you think? If not, do any of them take your fancy?

Mailbox Monday (7)

Mailbox Monday is a book meme which is hosted by Marcia at Mailbox Monday blog.

Basically, we have to make a post featuring the books which we bought, received for review, or loaned this past week. Here is what made it in to my house:

Personal Purchases:


I bought these two dead tree books from the local charity shop because they were a real bargain - only £1.40 for the two. Shattered is book 7 in a series and I've only read the first one but I couldn't pass it by at this price. Now I need to get books 2-6!

Shattered: View on Amazon || View on Goodreads
Bag of Bones: View on Amazon || View on Goodreads

Books for Review on NetGalley:


I was invited to read and review Cosmocopia which is the first time this has happened on NetGalley - normally it is me requesting.

Cosmocopia: View on Amazon || View on Goodreads
Red Rising: View on Amazon || View on Goodreads

Library Books:


Spell Bound: View on Amazon || View on Goodreads

Have you read any of these? Is so, what did you think? If not, do any of them take your fancy?

Monday Mailbox (6)

Mailbox Monday is a book meme which is hosted by Marcia at Mailbox Monday blog.

Basically, we have to make a post featuring the books which we bought, received for review, or loaned this past week. Here is what made it in to my house:

Personal Purchases:


Stephen King is one of my favourite authors so I am looking forward to reading this one.

Firestarter: View on Amazon || View on Goodreads
Before They Are Hanged: View on Amazon || View on Goodreads

Books for Review on NetGalley:


I don't usually go for anthologies or short stories but this Dark Fantasy & Horror one took my fancy mainly because Brandson Sanderson and Neil Gaiman have contributed to it. When I got this book I was in such a dilemma - whether to go straight for their stories first or work my way through the book from start to finish. How do you tackle compilations of short stories?

As for the second book, I may not have gone for it if it hadn't been focused on the Balkan region during the Yugoslavian War in the 90s. I visited the region for a holiday a few months back and wanted to find out more about it and the war in particular.

The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2014 Edition: View on Amazon || View on Goodreads
Rose of Sarajevo: View on Amazon || View on Goodreads