Oblivion

Oblivion
Rating: 5/5 
Buy or Borrow: Buy! DUHHH!
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

Experience the epic love story of OBSIDIAN as told by its hero, Daemon Black…

I knew the moment Katy Swartz moved in next door, there was going to be trouble. Lots of it. 

And trouble’s the last thing I need, since I’m not exactly from around here. My people arrived on Earth from Lux, a planet thirteen billion light years away. Plus, if there’s one thing I know, it’s that humans can’t be trusted. We scare them. We can do things they only dream about, and honestly, we make them look weak as hell. ‘Cuz they are. 

But Kat is getting to me in ways no one else has, and I can't stop myself from wanting her—or wanting to use my powers to protect her. She makes me weak, and I’m the strongest of our kind, tasked with protecting us all. So this one simple girl…she can mean the end for us. Because the Luxen have an even bigger enemy—the Arum, and I need to stay on my game. 

Falling for Katy—a human—won't just place her in danger. It could get us all killed, and that’s one thing I’ll never let happen...

First, I just have to say, it took a Herculean effort to post this on pub day as asked, rather than on Black Friday so I could make a Daemon Black/Black Friday pun. Seriously. 

Yes, this is Obsidian, the first Lux book, from Daemon's point of view and PRAISE.THE.LORD! Genuinely I thought I was hallucinating when I saw what Oblivion was about! I mean...seriously, if you're a Lux fan you've probably always thought about it and hoped for it and then BOOM. It happened! And if you buy the eBook, you get the next two freaking books from his POV as well.....I CANNOT EVEN! I'm all over that when it's out! 

When you read Obsidian, you genuinely sit there and wonder what Daemon is thinking during certain scenes. What motivated his attitude and his behaviour and choices and so on and this book gives you that and more! You see his thought process, see what he thought of Katy and what his feelings for her where and how they developed! There's gaps filled in from the first book, lots of bits where Katy wasn't present, or what was going on before she walked in to a scene or something she mentions happening being shown, like a conversation with her and Daemon about something and so on. There's also new scenes, obviously! 

I genuinely was squealing as I was reading, I mean the beginning scene and there where so many cute moments both from the first book and just from Daemon in general. Obsidian all comes flooding back as you read! I debated re-reading but a fellow Armentrout Army fangirl (The Book Chapter)  said to get on it straight away, because Obsidian comes flooding back so I did because I didn't really need much prompting, and she was so right! I have to say...it's been FANTASTIC to have someone to fangirl with, she's the only other fan I know of so if you're a fan of Jennifer and her books make yourselves known to us! She understands all the feels I'm feeling about this book! 

 I took ages to read my last book, even though it was one I loved, but as soon as I picked this up....I read most of it in mere hours. I finished it while puppy sitting and seriously. Cute little puppy all "play with meeee I'm so cute" and I'm like "sorry....Daemon is calling!". 

I had SO many feels while reading. I was squealing, I got all the warm and fuzzies, there was SO much cute. Like Daemon helping with the boxes. There's things you guessed about, and things you didn't know about Daemon doing or feeling that are confirmed and it's a feels fest. Genuinely. 

Daemon's inner monologue is freaking hilarious. Seriously, I was chuckling at his phrases and narrative. It was so entertaining, it's one of the many things about the book that keeps you reading, along with the writing, the plot and the characters and the FEELS. You see more about his relationship with Ash, you see more of the other Luxen in the beginning and get a feel for them through the eyes of someone who's known them a long while, it's a different side to them. 

Like I've said, there's plenty of other scenes not from Obsidian, not that I mind seeing scenes from the first book from Daemon's POV because, to going to lie, I do kinda read them and think "I'd love to know what Daemon was thinking"...but it's not all scenes from the first book! I know some people may be wary that's it's basically the first book, verbatim, scene for scene, but from Daemon's POV. It is Obsidian. But it's not exactly the same. Like I said....new scenes both with and without Katy. You get a more detailed and dimensional inner movie/picture of Obsidian as well as a complete look at their relationship. I love the well rounded feel I have right now from reading it in Daemon's POV and having little suspicions confirmed, and seeing all these little scenes not from the first book. There's even some scenes from the first book NOT in this book. They're mentioned, but it's not shown again and I loved that. It's like Armentrout KNOWS exactly what scenes we want to see! 

This is actually my first time reading a book from the heroes POV and I must say, it was so well done and I loved every page of it. The thing I loved about Lux before was the originality and the characters and the vivid setting and the plot and just everything basically okay. It's all present again, it sucks you back in to the world again. I loved Katy so much in the books, she's one of my all time favourite character's as she's so much like me. Beyond the blogger thing that is! So it was really fun seeing her through someone else's eyes and knowing what she was thinking while you see a scene as Daemon's experiencing it. Her personality and everything I loved about her in the other books still came through even though she wasn't the one narrating. 

I loved Dee as well, and I know we got to know her so much over the course of the books, but I feel like this book has added another layer to her. You see how much she cared about Katy right from the beginning in the way she called Daemon out and was upset whenever he was rude and horrible and I mean, I know we saw some of it in Obsidian but still. Seeing Daemon's reasoning behind the behaviour though....my FEELS! 

Oblivion is the book made of dreams for any Lux fan. There's an olympic level of "awwwww" in the scenes. So. Much. Cute! I fangirled, I squealed, and I was gutted when it was over because I wanted to carry on reading from his POV. I was never bored or had a sense of deja vu because I saw scenes from Obsidian with new eyes, and new scenes added to the story told in Obsidian. I think Jennifer has done an amazing job with this, and it's like she looked in to our brains and knew exactly what scenes we wanted to see! Daemon as a narrator is entertaining and the book overall, much like Obsidian, was hilarious and fun and just a fantastic read. Jennifer's books are my go to when I'm feeling down as they always pick me up, but then I can read them in any mood to be honest! This book is genuinely perfect and I'm excited to get the eBook and read the next two books from Daemon's POV! 

Wishing For Wednesday #67

Hey guys! 
Another week another Wednesday! 
December doesn't have all that much in the way of books coming out, so this month's WFW is pretty much all releases you can look forward to in January!
Okay so, I recently read The Darkest Minds and I still have to read the other two, AND the novellas...but I loved it and I love Bracken's writing style. That's not the only reason I'm excited for Passenger though, I just freaking love the premise and have heard good things from other bloggers already!
Second is another book from one of my favourite authors, there's nothing from Armstrong that I haven't loved and I'm so intrigued and excited by this one. She always does something different, and they're always an exciting read! 

Passenger

passage, n.
i. A brief section of music composed of a series of notes and flourishes.
ii. A journey by water; a voyage.
iii. The transition from one place to another, across space and time.

In one devastating night, violin prodigy Etta Spencer loses everything she knows and loves. Thrust into an unfamiliar world by a stranger with a dangerous agenda, Etta is certain of only one thing: she has traveled not just miles but years from home. And she’s inherited a legacy she knows nothing about from a family whose existence she’s never heard of. Until now.

Nicholas Carter is content with his life at sea, free from the Ironwoods—a powerful family in the colonies—and the servitude he’s known at their hands. But with the arrival of an unusual passenger on his ship comes the insistent pull of the past that he can’t escape and the family that won’t let him go so easily. Now the Ironwoods are searching for a stolen object of untold value, one they believe only Etta, Nicholas’ passenger, can find. In order to protect her, he must ensure she brings it back to them— whether she wants to or not.

Together, Etta and Nicholas embark on a perilous journey across centuries and continents, piecing together clues left behind by the traveler who will do anything to keep the object out of the Ironwoods’ grasp. But as they get closer to the truth of their search, and the deadly game the Ironwoods are play­ing, treacherous forces threaten to sep­arate Etta not only from Nicholas but from her path home . . . forever

Passenger is out January 5th, pre-order your copy....here! 
Add it to your GoodReads....here! 

The City of the Lost

New York Times and Globe and Mail bestselling author Kelley Armstrong delivers us to Rockton, a secret little town in the far north where the hunted go to hide. And where a hunter has now come to play.

Casey Duncan once killed a man and got away with it. Since then she’s become a talented police detective, tethered only to her job, her best friend, Diana, and the occasional evening with her sexy, no-strings-attached ex-con lover, Kurt. But then Diana's abusive ex finds her again, despite all Casey has done to help her disappear. And Casey’s own dark past begins to catch up with her. The two women need to run—and Diana’s heard of a place where they won’t be found, a town especially for people like them…

The City of the Lost is out January 14th, pre-order your copy.....here!

Add it to your TBR.....here! 

Awake Video!

Hellloooo!
It's Tuesday and I don't usually post on Tuesday so you're probably all confused right now because here I am! I'm also posting at an unusual time, but I have an exciting thing for you all! 
I was emailed by the lovely Melissa at Entangled Publishing to share a video with you guys. 

What video would that be? WELL. It's the new music video to go with Oblivion! Oblivion will have a full soundtrack and the video I get to share with you guys is the first full music video for the book. It's been inspired by the book so it'll make good listening before, after or just during your read of it. 

So without further babbling.....here it is! Enjoy the song and ya know....ogling Daemon. 



The lovely singer is Jolie and I have a handy link to her bio so you guys can check her out! 
http://www.entangledmusic.com/#!jolie/yhnrt

Check out my review of Oblivion......here! 

I'm also giving away a copy of Obsidian in honour of the release of Oblivion, so head on over to my instagram, (instagram.com/realitysabore) to enter! Keep your eyes peeled on my other social media sites as I may well have another copy up for grabs! 

The Masked City

The Masked City
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy 
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher, Tor! 
Check out my review of The Invisible Library, the first book in the series! 

Librarian-spy Irene is working undercover in an alternative London when her assistant Kai goes missing. She discovers he's been kidnapped by the fae faction and the repercussions could be fatal. Not just for Kai, but for whole worlds.

Kai's dragon heritage means he has powerful allies, but also powerful enemies in the form of the fae. With this act of aggression, the fae are determined to trigger a war between their people - and the forces of order and chaos themselves.

Irene's mission to save Kai and avert Armageddon will take her to a dark, alternate Venice where it's always Carnival. Here Irene will be forced to blackmail, fast talk, and fight. Or face death. 

"This is a place built to store books, by people who wanted to preserve books, and used by people who want to read those books. I am not alone."

Well guys, I'm just going to put it straight out there...once again Cogman has written a book that immediately hits my "Favourite Books of the Year" list. Seriously. This has been one of my most anticipated books since I read The Invisible Library in December last year. I've been waiting and waiting and getting more and more excited and then there was a cover, and then the book was finally in my hands because Lauren over at Tor is freaking awesome!

Straight up, there is no second book syndrome here guys, don't worry. In fact this book is kinda tied with the first book, I can't quite decide if it's better or not, so I'll settle for both being freaking AMAZING! I dived back in to this world head first and you know, it's the world and it's the bookishness, but it made me feel like coming home. I love the world, it feels homey to me, I get it. I get Irene and I get her job.

You open up the book, and the first thing you see is an extract from the Student Librarians Handbook and I was just like "yaaaaaass! I'm back!", it prodded my memory, and gave me some in depth knowledge of the Fae and Dragons before we got stuck in with the book. I knew it was all going to kick off with that lot from the blurb but reading  the extract I was like.....something's going to go down and it won't be good! It was such a good way to bring you back to the world of the book, and show you the way Librarians are taught to think and gives you more information about the species of the world before you get started. Or ya know...refreshes your memory about them! 

Right from the start you're pulled back in to the book, yes by the characters and the world and everything but the atmosphere really grabbed and next thing I know...I'm back in Irene's world. I loved how atmospheric Invisible Library was and I was so pleased this book continued it on. Genuine chills down the spine, excited shivers kind of atmosphere. The atmosphere in this book is something you can practically feel and it helps set the scene and helps you get a feel for whichever setting it is you're in as you're reading. It helps to bring the world alive and brings you in to the story as you feel what the characters are feeling, the tension, the suspense the danger and so on. 

We're already familiar with the world, and the atmosphere, like I said, brings you straight back in and it all comes flooding back from the first book so it's like you never left. The alternate Irene is residing in is an alternate London, kind of Victorian era with steampunk and so on, and it all formed in your mind as you were reading. The buildings shot up out of the fog, as the characters materialised. 

The world building in the first book blew my mind, and in this book...I can't even. We don't stay in Irene's alternate, oh no, we see the Library again. I've got to say I love the visuals for the library! But more than that, we travel to another alternate. It's an alternate Venice and it's just so damn decadent and colourful and mysterious and kind of creepy with the fog and the secret police just appearing out of nowhere! Venice is one of the places I most want to visit, and Cogman really brought it to life for me, I got a feel for the place itself as well as the one created in the book for the Fae to reside in, and it was so vivid. So so vivid. I felt like I was there and I was loving all the visuals being thrown out not to mention the unique twists like a Fae prison in a....unique location! 

There's immediate action in the book, the plot is moving in to motion and the intrigue is starting right from page one. There is no faffing about, straight in there! The thing about these books, is that there are so many little threads that all come in to play at the beginning and weave together to start the plot, and then more and more threads are added, and you end up with this delightfully complex plot to sink your teeth in to and you end up being constantly surprised by the twists and turns to it. You had to work out who'd taken Kai, why, to what end, what their motivation was, what the bigger picture was and so on. There's still Alberich hanging over things and I was just waiting for him to pop up and now next book I'll be waiting for him and a character from this one to be all "surprise...I bet you thought you'd seen the last of me!". 

There was always something going on, you've got some political power struggle with the Fae, the whole thing with the Dragons and the Fae and you're glued to the book and finding it impossible to find a place to put it down. I genuinely went to a gig last night and I was stood there like...."I wonder how Irene's going to rescue Kai, and THEN try and escape, because this is going on..." and so on and so on. You're constantly intrigued, and the next book has been subtly set up, so subtly that you don't even realize it until the end! The thing is, while the plot is complex, the book is easy to read. There's no drawn out descriptions and explanations. Any mention of events from the previous book are concise. The pace of the book has you rocketing through it, and the flow is so perfect. 

The narrative is so fluid, you go from the prologue, back in time to before the events of the prologue happened, then from there it smoothly takes us through the events leading up to the prologue event, and then past it. Not to mention how the little interludes are slotted in without seeming jarring or out of place. You smoothly go from Irene and what's going on with her, to a little interlude to give a nice little break and Kai's point of view. Not to mention more intrigue and pieces of the puzzle. 

The thing I loved most, or well...one of the things, in the previous book was the originality. There's a tonne more of it here. The premise itself is original, and everything I loved from the first book was back. The Fae and their lore, the Dragons and theirs. The Library and how it works. The alternates. The things in the alternates. We also see the alternate Kai resided in and it's such a brilliant contrast to the one they reside in. There's so many unique things about the settings, the alternate Venice for example! I don't want to spoil by being specific! I just love how original the book is and how it's kept up with all these little things here and there. 

Irene continues to be one of my favourite characters ever. In the first book I found her so easy to connect with and in this book it was like reuniting with an old friend. She's reintroduced with her entertaining and witty narrative and you kind of just sigh as you read, and think "it's good to be back" especially as she's in such a situation that only she would be in! She's Librarian in Residence now, and there's all this new responsibility and a new weight to her actions throughout the book, because it will impact that. There's no hunt for a book this time, well there is a bit, but not so much as the first book! Irene continues to make me laugh, to be badass in her own unique way, she's intelligent and she's just awesome. I love her, I really do! I loved that she's willing to ignore Library rules to go after Kai and save him, no matter how much trouble she would get in. 

There was a lot less Kai in this book, he was still here, we got some Kai time...but obviously not as much and I was kind of okay with that because while I'm looking forward to Kai and his nature, and the problems it may cause, I enjoyed seeing more of Vale. As well as, dare I say it, Silver. Not to mention the new characters! Vale in this book really struck me as a Sherlock Holmes kind of detective, and I knew he was going to do something, but I was still surprised when he popped up! Silver and his actions also surprised me, even though he was really trying to help himself, it was kind of cool to learn more about him and his past considering how big a presence he is in the alternate they all live in. 

What's doing brilliantly in this book, much like the first book, is the characters. They're all created so fantastically and with detail and depth. As you read about them you have an image of them forming in your mind and it's not just main characters. The secondary characters all get the same treatment. I kind of think Zayanna and Irene would make a good team so I'm slightly hoping to see her again! Not so much a certain Lady. The villain of the book was delightfully awful, and I really wanted to smack him one, I didn't much care for his power either! He was so well created that you could feel Irene's urgency to get away from him and the sense of danger when he was in a scene. 

What was super exciting, was meeting Kai's Uncle and seeing more dragons and learning more about them, but I'm completely  greedy and want more! I love dragons, I'm not going to lie and the way they've been done in this book just makes me excited to see more of them! We also learn a fair bit about the Fae, their legends, their history, how they tick. I'm intrigued by them even more so after quasi meeting The Ten. I just love the whole thing with the Fae and how they work and so on, it fascinates me and kind of just resonates with me, in a way. I feel like it's such a true thing in real life, everyone has their own story and they paint themselves a hero or a villain and so on and everyone they encounter is a character in the story of their life, so yeah! 

I must mention, right now, that I'm just waiting for Kai and Irene to be a thing. I sort of really, kinda ship them and this book just fuelled it really! There's no outright romance, but there are feelings, they don't take over the whole book and plot...but they are there and I'm waiting to see what will happen next with them. Mostly I just want more time in the world of the books! The ending of this book really didn't help...cliffhanger much!? It's a bearable one...just. But still. Cogman knows how to leave you wanting more and excitedly anticipating the next book without over doing it! I can't wait to see where we go next, I'm so up for exploring more alternates and I can't wait to see what happens to Irene next. After the first book I had some suspicions about her parentage and I'm waiting to see if I'm right! 

The Masked City is the second decadent and moreish instalment in a completely engrossing series that lets you get completely lost in the pages as you're sucked in to the world. There's plenty of action and a load of humour that has you chuckling as you read. The Masked City is one of those books that's so colourful and vivid, you can picture it like a little movie in your head and it begs to be adapted to the big screen. There's an atmosphere so real that you find yourself on the edge of your seat, biting your nails as you read scenes full of danger and suspense. The characters come alive, and it's one of those books you want to crawl inside and live in the world of so, so badly. There's a love of books to this series, and you can feel it in every page and connect to the world and characters through it. The originality is still there, saturating everything and making a story unlike any you've read before. This is one of those series I want to go on and on forever because the world being created is so extensive and the possibilities for this series are endless! 

The Masked City is kind of the perfect sequel and I am gutted it's over and kind of wishing I read slower! Having said that, there where some little bonuses that helped make the separation easier! Irene's favourite heists and Legends of the Library....definitely a nice addition to the book! 

Black Friday.....Daemon Black That Is!

Hey guys!
This Black Friday I'm giving you the gift of Daemon Black. 
I know there's those of you following me who have no idea who the hell I'm talking about so, because I think I'm so funny/punny I couldn't resist not doing a post about the Lux series on Black Friday because ya know......Daemon BLACK. Yeah I know, you get it already! 

Coming out on the third, is Oblivion. The first Lux book, Obsidian, from the point of view of Daemon himself, so you know....that's exciting! The book is awesome, it's kind of perfectly done, I'm not going to lie to you! 

Seeing as that's going on, it's the perfect time to convince you all to read the other Lux books SO...

What Is Lux? 

It's a series of books, with five books in all (six when Oblivion is out) by Jennifer L Armentrout who has written two other completely awesome YA series, that you should also check out! There's also a little prequel novella that's the story of two other characters that has a big part of the main books! Oh and I nearly forgot, there's a standalone book that's a spin off that I haven't actually read or uhhh....bought yet. Shhhh! 

SO the good news is it's not too late to jump on the Lux train, and ya know...you can read them all in one go instead of the agonising wait in between books! 

What Is Lux About? 

Lux is about book addict and book blogger Katy, who moves to a new town and she moves right next door to the super hot Daemon and his sister Dee. Dee becomes her BFF. Katy is most likely a lot more luckier than any of us with her neighbours. 

Things should be a tonne of fun, but Daemon is arrogant, stab worthy and a general douche to her. Except for when he's not. *cos you're hot then you're cooooooolllldd, you're yes then you're nooooooo* 

So Daemon is doing his best to keep Katy away from his sister, but it's not really working out and he ends up doing what he was afraid Dee would do. After an incident a little secret comes to light. Nothing major. Just that Daemon and Dee are aliens, super freaking cool aliens with awesome powers who can stop time and stuff like that! 

The thing Daemon was most afraid of comes true. Thanks to his touch, Katy's lit up like a Christmas Tree and any of their enemies, who want to absorb their abilities, will spot her and she'll lead them straight to the Luxen. She has to stick close to Daemon until the alien mojo fades, which would be cool if she didn't want to strangle him half the time. Then there's the fact Katy just can't quite do as she's told...fair play really! History is repeating itself for the Luxen and that's not good news. 

But the series doesn't end there. If I tell  you about the rest of the series I don't think I'll be able to avoid spoilers, but let's just say, the alien mojo has an effect on Katy, and allies are actually enemies. There's a heap of betrayal.  There's a government branch that is shady AF, and they have to stop them to save themselves. Kinda crappy explanation from me but it's the best I can do! 

Why Should I Read Them? 

Because they're entertaining. They're funny, there's romance, there's actions, there's awesome aliens, there's originality and there's feels. As well as relatable characters, who have so much depth to them! Seriously the romance is just perfection. It brings the warm and fuzzies and you kind of can't help doing this: 

It's not straight forward, there's obstacles, but there's no silly love triangles. Seriously. I know you'll read the back of book two and be like "really?" but trust me. It's not an actual love triangle. 

There's electrifying (see, I'm punny!) fight scenes, suspense, true gasp out loud moments and downright hilarious moments. Not to mention you're never quite sure what's going to happen and the over arching plot is complex, with all these little threads leading up to the end. There's so much detail to the Luxen and their lore as it were, it's gripping and fascinating and just so damn original guys. Seriously. There's so many little bits added as the world of the Luxen is expanded upon as the books go on and more revelations come to light. 

If you get started now and you're fast reader you might even get done by the time that Oblivion comes out! 
I should also mention that Oblivion in eBook version is going to have book two and three from Daemon's POV as well.....how freaking exciting is that!? 

Reading Order: 

0.5 Shadows
1. Obsidian
1.5 Oblivion
2. Onyx
3. Opal
4. Origin
5. Opposition

So....there you have it. You know you wanna start it! Let me know if you start the books and LOVE them! Or ya know...drop me a comment if you want to know about the other books! 

Books I'm Thankful For

Happy Thanksgiving guys! 
I'm not American, and therefore don't celebrate Thanksgiving, but I do have American relatives and around this time of year I always end up contemplating what I'm thankful for! I recently did a photo challenge day for "thankful" and I thought it would be a nice idea to do a post of books that I am thankful for this Thanksgiving, and there are quite a few for various reasons, so I've tried to narrow it down a bit! 

1. Harry Potter
I really do try not to use this for EVERY post I do, but it's so hard because it's such a huge part of my life! You've probably all heard the story from me, you know, I always read a lot as a kid, but Harry Potter stepped it up a notch for me really, I really got in to reading through it. It was the first time I experienced eagerly awaiting the next book in a series, and the first time I went to a midnight release. I remember going at midnight to get Deathly Hallows and starting to read it immediately, having a nap basically and then getting up and finishing it. 

2. The Mortal Instruments & The Infernal Devices
Again, I'm fairly certain I've mentioned this before in one guise or another but it's also been a huge part of my life. I actually stumbled across Clockwork Angel at the library and ended up immediately going and buying my own copy, and then the first three Mortal Instruments books. I stumbled across these at a rather....blah time of life. I was in a reading slump, I wasn't as in to it as I used to be. I was still reading but I didn't have that "OMG have to read, the feels" kind of thing. There was no passion and this brought it all back. Not to mention rocking up to a festival and meeting friends of a friend and immediately bonding over these books, and fingerling about it and basically meeting one of my best friends. We all read Clockwork Princess together in one night and it was glorious. 

3. The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings
I came to this sooooo late, like the films had been out for a while, I hadn't even seen them and then one day I just had the urge to watch them....and I loved them. Being the bookish person I am, I then immediately went and bought the books and started to read them, except for The Hobbit which I'd had on my shelf and hadn't really started it. These books basically got me in to fantasy which got me in to a lot of other books that I love that I probably wouldn't have picked up without reading LOTR! 

4. The Hunger Games
I have a confession to make...I had the books...but I didn't read them until I had seen the first film. Sorry guys! I ended up reading all three in pretty much three days. These books, I can't even. So perfect, so many feels and I'm kind of including this because I just saw the final film the other day and it gave me feels and I was just kind of so amazed to be involved with the wait for films and the excitement, it was like Harry Potter almost hahaa. No but this was the first Dystopian book I had read and I ended up reading SO MANY good books because of it! 

5. The Princess Diaries & The Mediator
Okay so these two are my favourites, but pretty much every Meg Cabot book got me through my teenage years. Either with pure escapism, or the humour or in some cases with some sort of advice or something that I could take from the book and use in my own life to sort a problem. Made those years a bit more enjoyable! You have no idea how excited I am about a new Mediator book coming out! Not to mention the Princess Diaries one that I STILL haven't read! 

6. The Covenant 
So, I stumbled across Half-Blood on Amazon, and of course, it was only published in the US so I have the original covers, and the books are a bit unwieldy if I'm honest, but I LOVED them! You all know I love mythology and Ancient Greece and Ancient Egypt, and this one was right up my street. I re-read this series, or the Lux whenever I need a pick me up. I actually didn't read the Lux until last year. LAST YEAR! I really do suck! Half-Blood was a gateway drug, I swear, I was hooked. Eagerly waiting for each new book in the series. I've read every single book of hers except for the ones she's written under J. Lynn and the Lux spin off book which I haven't bought yet...shhhh! I'm currently reading Oblivion and I'm just like....you know. I freaking love these books. They really do instantly lift my mood. I probably should have had this as number one but I didn't really do a ranking order just random!

7. Throne of Glass
These are just...I can't even. I got sent the third one to review, and I already had the other two on my TBR, so I finally got around to reading them all and I just fell in love straight away and they have such a place in my heart. The fandom, admittedly did have a falling out over Queen of Shadows but still. The story, the richness of it. It's like eating a really nice, rich slice of chocolate. You never want it to end, and you're savouring every bite, and then you're gutted because you scoffed it too fast. Perfection. 

8. Shadow Falls 
This is a series I always rave about, but no-one else seems to have really read. It's kinda creepy, what with all the ghosts, but it's got everything good you love in a book. It's one I really am due a re-read of to be honest, it's been a while! I've got the last two books of the spin off trilogy to read, everyone was going mad about the ending of the second book so I decided to show some self control for once, and wait until the final one was out to read it! I read these at a really crappy time in my life, and just got completely lost in them. 

9. Jane Eyre
I read this at school for my English GCSE. Never before had I ever read a classic. Well. I'd kind of read Dracula and The Secret Garden but it was more of a "it's free with the paper, and I have nothing else to read" kinda thing and I don't think I actually finished Dracula. So, this one was the first classic I read all the way through and actually liked. I read ahead of the class and everything and got way too in to the essay for the coursework. If I hadn't read this at school, I probably would have no classics on my shelf and wouldn't have read any others! 

10. The Diviners
THIS SERIES. There's only two and the sequel was out this year and I re-read Diviners and oh my god. I get SO pulled in when reading Diviners that I end up swaying towards a Diviners style when doing makeup and getting dressed and everything. I go full 1920's it's insane. I even went crazy for the Lair of Dreams review and made a playlist with all the songs and a few other finds, to go with it. These genuinely suck me in the entire time I'm reading and they're so decadent and kind of creepy and just completely glorious and I was really falling out of love with Historical kind of books and then BHAM. Historical setting AND kids with powers AND  a ship that I ship so hard I'll probably be emotionally compromised if they don't work out. 

What books are you thankful for?!