Jen's January 2016 Book Haul

I started the year off by buying a lot of books...again. 

The False Prince, The Runaway King, The Shadow Throne (The Ascendance trilogy) by Jennifer A. Nielsen
This is a middle grade/young adult high fantasy trilogy that I have been hearing a lot of good things about recently and it sounded like something that I would really enjoy! 

The Raven Boys, The Dream Thieves & Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater 
These are the first three books in the Raven Cycle series, with the fourth book coming out later this year. I read the Wolves of Mercy Falls series by this author and it wasn't great. However I have heard numerous people rave about the Raven Cycle series who also didn't like the Wolves of Mercy Falls series so I decided to take a chance and I bought the books. 

The White Queen, The Red Queen & The White Princess by Philippa Gregory 
These books are part of the Cousin's War series and I am slowly collecting all the books in this series in my attempts to read more historical fiction. 

Prisoner of Night and Fog & Conspiracy of Blood and Smoke by Anne Blankman 
This is a historical fiction duology that sounded very interesting to me and I have also heard lots of great things about it. I also have to say that I love these UK covers! 

The Girl in 6E & Do Not Disturb by A.R. Torre 
These are the first two books in the Deanna Madden adult thriller series. I saw these in Big W one day and I love a good thriller so I decided to get them!

Maybe Someday & Maybe Not by Colleen Hoover 
I read Maybe Someday over a year ago and it was the first Colleen Hoover book I ever read. When I read the companion novella Maybe Not I loved it even more so when it was finally released in paperback I got both of these books to add to my Colleen Hoover collection. 

Becoming Rain by K.A. Tucker
This is the second book in the Burying Water series. After reading the Ten Tiny Breaths series by this author, I immediately wanted to read her new series.

Room by Emma Donoghue 
This was first published a few years ago but I had not heard anything about it until I found out about the movie release. The premise sounded very intriguing to me so I decided to buy the book and I'm so glad I did because I've already read it and ended up loving it!

The Siren by Kiera Cass 
This is a standalone fantasy romance novel that I have been wanting to read for quite a while and I'm excited to finally have it! 

Passenger by Alexandra Bracken 
This was the book that was included in the January YA Chronicles box. It's the first book in yet another fantasy series that I want to read! 

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater 
This is a standalone fantasy that I have heard some good things about and the synopsis sounded interesting enough to me. Since I was apparently on a Maggie Stiefvater buying spree I went ahead and got this one too. 

 

Game of Thrones: The Noble Houses of Westeros: Seasons 1-5

This is yet another companion book to the series but I came across this in Big W one day and I just couldn't resist!      

January YA Chronicles Unboxing

The theme for the January 2016 YA Chronicles Box was Travel the World and it was another great box! 

The bookmark for this box: 

Next was this Wanderlust necklace: 

There was also a world map temporary tattoo: 

But my favourite bookish item in this box was this travel journal kit! I had decided this year that I wanted to keep track of the different countries and places that I visited in the books I read so this item was perfect! 

Now we finally come to the book! Passenger by Alexandra Bracken. This is the first book in a YA fantasy series that not only involves travelling around the world, but also travelling through time! It has received a lot of hype and I definitely want to read it so I was excited that this was the book.
However, I had really wanted Passenger in hardcover so I was disappointed that the paperback edition was included. 

Here are the contents of the box all together! 

Mel's January 2016 Book Haul

I spent WAY too much on books this month! Oops.

These two were actually gifted to me by Jen!
Emerald Green by Kerstin Gier (Christmas)
The Shadowhunter's Codex by Cassandra Clare and Joshua Lewis (birthday)

I saw this trilogy and couldn't resist! Especially since the second book is set in Australia! Extreme impulse buy. I don't regret it so far!

Royal Blood by Una McCormack
Big Bang Generation by Gary Russell
Deep Time by Trevor Baxendale

Here's some beautiful hardcovers that you really need to see in person because these photos don't do them justice:
A Thousand Nights by EK Johnston
The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

You guys! YOU GUYS!!! This book is 100% nostalgia! I used to watch the TV series when I was a kid but I've never read it!
The Animals of Farthing Wood by Colin Dann

I'm on a bit of a sci-fi kick, especially after reading Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff!
These Broken Stars, This Shattered World, Their Fractured Light by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

This was January's YA Chronicles subscription box book.
Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

Then these books just because I saw them. Two sequels to series I've already got and a stand alone.
The White Rose by Amy Ewing
Dumplin' by Julie Murphy
Blood Storm by Rihannan Hart

And I've finally, finally gotten around to this series, which I think is a long time overdue since I love high fantasy!
Sabriel & Lirael by Garth Nix

February 2016 TBR

Jen 

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

This is another series that I have been wanting to read for a long time now but have been putting it off until the series is complete. With the third and final book in the trilogy coming out later this year and the movie adaptation of this first book only recently released in cinemas, now seems like a great time to finally start this series.

The Siren by Kiera Cass

This is a new release that only just came out at the end of January. I have not read anything by this author before because I am waiting for her Selection series to be complete before I start it.  It is a standalone fantasy (which is such a rare thing to come across) romance and this book sounds very intriguing. I’m excited to finally read something by this author because I’ve heard great things about her writing.

Heidi by Johanna Spyri

This was my favourite children’s classic when I was younger. However I have only ever read abridged versions of this story and I have been wanting to read the original version for a long time. I’m excited to revisit a childhood favourite of mine!

Burn for Burn trilogy (Burn for Burn, Fire with Fire & Ashes to Ashes) by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian

I have been really wanting to read some contemporary lately and this series is one I have wanted to read for a long time but just haven’t gotten around to it. I have read and loved all of Jenny Han’s other books so I can’t wait to finally read this trilogy!

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

This is the first book in the His Fair Assassin trilogy, a fantasy series that I have heard really good things about. It has been on my TBR for months now and I’m finally in the mood to read it.

The following books are continuations of series that I started in January that I would also like to get to in February:

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling 

Anne of Avonlea (Anne of Green Gables #2) by L.M. Montgomery 

Ozma of Oz (Oz #3) by L Frank Baum
City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments #2), City of Glass (#3), City of Fallen Angels (#4), City of Lost Souls (#5), City of Heavenly Fire (#6) by Cassandra Clare
I listened to the audiobook of City of Bones in January in preparation for the Shadowhunters TV show and decided to continue on with the series in preparation for the release of Lady Midnight in March. 

Mel
I have a stack of books that I've had for 5 or more years that I want to read before deciding what to do with them, but I'm hoping they won't slow me down much. These books either didn't pull me in or I lost interest in them over the years.

Past Midnight and One Hundred Candles by Mara Purnhagen
Winter's Shadow by MJ Hearle
Here Lies Bridget by Paige Harbison
Between by Jessica Warman

Then I want to reread these Sabrina the Teenage Witch books before deciding what to do with them:
Up, Up and Away by Nancy Holder
Wake-up Call by Diana G Gallagher
Know-it-all by Lisa Fiedler
Off To See the Wizard by Nancy Krulik

I also want to read this Doctor Who Trilogy:
Royal Blood by Una McCormack
Big Bang Generation by Gary Russell
Deep Time by Trevor Baxendale

This is an ambitious list but I'm actually hoping to fit more books in, since Uni starts at the end of the month. As far as I know, I don't have a set reading list this semester, so I'm hoping that I'll still have time to read between essays.

January 2016 Wrap Up

Jen

I’m pretty happy with how my reading went in January. Despite all the distractions that I had going on, I still managed to read all the books on my TBR and fit in a few other quick reads as well. There were some fantastic reads that are new favourites of mine (as well as some old favourites!) but also some that didn’t quite live up to my expectations.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum → 5/5

The Marvellous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum → 3/5

Soundless by Richelle Mead → 5/5

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling → 5/5

Quidditch Through the Ages by J.K. Rowling → 5/5

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn → 3.5/5

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon → 5/5

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery → 4.5/5

All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr → 3.5/5

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (audiobook) → 4/5

Mind Games by Kiersten White → 4/5

Perfect Lies by Kiersten White → 4/5

The Great Zoo of China by Matthew Reilly → 4.5/5

Room by Emma Donoghue → 5/5 

Mel
I started out the month quite well, but petered out a bit because I was trying to read The Raven Boys and it wasn't going well. Sadly, I am marking it as DNF. The first DNF for me for years. I am disappointed too, since I've seen so many people rave about the series. I don't know if it's the slow pace or the writing style, but it is a hideously slow book to start and I was more than 150 pages in before I gave it up. I hate marking books as DNF and I try to give it a fair chance if I can, but being a third into a book and still not enjoying it... well, that speaks for itself. Instead, I turned to a favourite comic/graphic novel series that I haven't read for years and I have picked myself right out of my slump. I've already finished two books for February!!

Trick by Natalia Jaster → 5/5
Illuminae by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman → 5/5
The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys by Gerard Way:
#1 Whatever Gets You Through The Night → 5/5
#2 Ghost Stations → 5/5
#3 Blind → 5/5
#4 Run! → 5/5
#5 Waking The Destroya → 5/5
#6 BOOM! → 5/5