Top Five Wednesday | Mental Health

 

Hello! Welcome to another Top Five Wednesday! This week's Top Five Wednesday is my top five books with mental health rep. Mental health and the importance of it is increasingly a topic that is being discussed in fiction. In honour of World Bipolar Day, we are looking at some books that touch on or centre around the importance of mental health. I will say that creating this list has made me realise how few fantasy books there are with mental health rep. There are definitely a few with PTSD rep but other than that, I don't think I know of many! So the ones I've chosen are mostly contemporary and non-fiction, but if you know any fantasy books with good mental health rep then let me know in the comments!

1. Am I Normal Yet? by Holly Bourne

Holly Bourne is actually my favourite contemporary author because she writes characters and women's lives so well. Her adult books are my favourite, but this YA series, starting with Am I Normal Yet? is probably the best YA contemporary that I've read as an adult. This book follows Evie, a teenager recently off her meds and trying to make friends at a new college where no-one knows her as the 'girl-who-went-crazy'. But relationships are messy - especially romantic ones. Evie has OCD and anxiety and I've never read rep as good as I have in this book relating to those mental illnesses. It's so well done. Also, Evie's relationship with her two female friends, Amber and Lottie, is just so refreshing to see in YA because they so clearly care about each other and there's no competition or cattiness. I also loved to see the UK college setting, which is so rare - you mostly see American high school books. Overall, this is a funny, feminist, contemporary with fantastic mental health rep so I highly recommend it.

2. Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

Now, first of all, I know everyone already knows John Green's books. Secondly, I didn't actually love this book, but I'd still recommend it as a book with good mental health rep, and I'll explain why in minute. This book begins with a fugitive billionaire and the promise of a cash reward, but it primarily centres around Aza Holmes, a young woman going through her daily existence with the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts. The plot itself is a little weird and a bit unrealistic (as with a lot of John Green books). However, the mental health rep of anxiety and OCD was too well written for me in the sense that I actual found it a little bit triggering (I know loads of people who didn't find it triggering though so do read more reviews than just mine if that's something that might bother you!). Because this is an own voices novel about anxiety and thought spirals, John Green is very good at writing about them, which was hard for me to read. Overall, it's fantastic rep and great to see more books normalising it, but this one just wasn't quite for me. I know a lot of people who adored this book though which is why I still wanted to put it on people's radar as a book with good rep.

3. Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig

I absolutely love Matt Haig's non-fiction work. His books centre around depression and anxiety and this is a life-affirming memoir about his own struggle and how he's learned to appreciate being alive. Everyone’s lives are touched by mental illness: if we do not suffer from it ourselves, then we have a friend or loved one who does. Matt’s frankness about his experiences is both inspiring to those who feel daunted by depression and illuminating to those who are mystified by it. Above all, his humour and encouragement never lets us lose sight of hope. He teaches the reader to celebrate the small joys and moments of peace that life brings, and reminds us that there are always reasons to stay alive. It's just a beautifully touching book that has helped so many people I know, not only with their own mental health, but also with understanding how those illnesses can make others feel even if you don't suffer from it yourself. 

4. Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

I haven't yet read a Fredrik Backman book that I haven't loved, but this one is my absolute favourite so far. Anxious People starts with an ordinary, open-house apartment viewing that soon turns into a hostage situation when a failed bank robber bursts in. As the pressure mounts, the eight strangers begin slowly opening up to one another and reveal long-hidden truths. Before long, the robber must decide which is the more terrifying prospect: going out to face the police, or staying in the apartment with this group of impossible people. The whimsical plot and beautifully translated writing gives the reader an insight into the human condition and all the anxious people that exist in our world. It is the perfect combination of serious conversation, humour, and positivity. It will make you cry but it is so heart-warming overall and I highly recommend it.

5. First, We Make the Beast Beautiful by Sarah Wilson

I was given this book by a friend who has also suffered from anxiety. This is another non-fiction book that pulls at the thread of accepted definitions of anxiety and reframes it as a spiritual quest. While I didn't agree with some of the topics/views in this book (e.g., quitting sugar) there were some great quotes that I think are really helpful to both anxiety-sufferers, and also to people who have loved ones with anxiety who want to understand it better. Some of the issues I had with the book included the author's assumption that people just had money to go on retreats and solve their problems. But overall, I do feel like this book (if used alongside others) can definitely help people with their understanding of anxiety overall.

So, those are my top five books with mental health rep! I do think it's often hard to find books with genuinely good mental health rep, especially since mental health conditions can affect people in such different ways, so let me know what your Top Five are below, or if you have a blog post then link it! Just in case anyone is new to this, Top Five Wednesday was created by Lainey (Gingerreadslainey on YouTube) and is now run by the Goodreads Group so that people can share more of their favourite (or sometimes least favourite) books in an interesting way. The people in the Group create weekly topics each month so Bloggers and YouTubers alike to discuss books. The group can be found here! And if you want to see more of my previous Top Five Wednesday Blog posts, you can click here!

Top Five Wednesday | First in a Series

Hello! Welcome to another Top Five Wednesday! This week's Top Five Wednesday is my top five favourite book that are the first in a series. Basically, what would I recommend as a fantastic first book. I've deliberately chosen to only include books where I enjoyed the rest of the series too, but there are definitely some great first books that I've read where the sequels weren't as good. I've also got a few honourable mentions at the end of the list with pretty popular books that are also great!

1. Malice by John Gwynne

I read this book and the entire Faithful and the Fallen series last year, and it became one of my favourite fantasy series of all time. This high-fantasy series follows quite a large cast of characters in a world which has a violent past where armies of men and giants clashed in battle. But now giants stir anew, the very stones weep blood and there are sightings of giant wyrms. Those who can still read the signs see a threat far greater than the ancient wars. Corban is a young boy who longs to be a warrior, and when he saves a wolf cub, his life starts to change. This series has everything I love in fantasy series: elemental magic, animal companions, dragons, and a found family. I highly recommend this series to absolutely everyone, but this first book definitely sells the series so well.

2. Vicious by V.E. Schwab

Vicious is the first book in the Villains series (originally a standalone but now it's potentially going to be a trilogy). This is a contemporary book with a sci-fi twist where people are able to become superheroes (aka an Extraordinary) but cheating death. We follow two anti-heroes, Victor and Eli, who start off as college roommates, but ten years later, one is in prison and the other is hell bent on eradicating all other super-powered people. I loved all of the characters in this book despite their flaws and the powers in this book were so interesting. I also adored the way the book goes between the past and the present to tell the story. This is easily the best book I've read by Schwab and I highly recommend this as an introduction to her books.

3. Nyxia by Scott Reintgen

This is a book that really surprised me. I actually got it as an arc in an Illumicrate box years ago and it was genuinely the best book I've ever had from them. It's a YA sci-fi where 10 intelligent teenagers are recruited to earn the right to travel down to the planet of Eden where they will mine a substance called Nyxia that has quietly become the most valuable material in the universe. We follow Emmett Atwater who isn’t just leaving Detroit; he’s leaving Earth. Why the Babel Corporation recruited him is a mystery, but the number of zeroes on their contract has him boarding their lightship and hoping to return to Earth with enough money to take care of his family. This is a fantastic book and it gave me Hunger Games-esque vibes with the competition, but the characters are all so amazing. The writing is fast-paced and it's so easy to read this in a day. This is a seriously underrated book and it also makes a great introduction to sci-fi books if you're new to them.

4. The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

The Gentleman Bastard series is another high fantasy that follows Locke Lamora, an orphan turned thief, on the mysterious island of Camorr. As leader of the band of light-fingered brothers known as the Gentleman Bastards, Locke is soon infamous, fooling even the underworld’s most feared ruler. But in the shadows lurks someone still more ambitious and deadly. Faced with a bloody coup that threatens to destroy everyone and everything that holds meaning in his mercenary life, Locke vows to beat the enemy at his own brutal game, or die trying. This is another book that alternates between two timelines so so well. It also has an amazing found family with the Gentleman Bastards. Locke is witty and the humour throughout is paired so well with the almost grim-dark world. I absolutely adored this first book, and while I do think it's the best book so far, there are many more to come, and the sequels are still truly great. Fair warning though, you may cry when reading this.

5. Stray by Rachel Vincent

This is a bit of a different type of book to the ones I usually recommend. The Shifter series is an urban fantasy that primarily follows Faythe, an all-American grad student, and one of the few female werecats left. With the ability to shift into a huge black leopard, she is hunted by Strays (werecats without a pride) who are trying to find another female werecat. This brush with danger was all her Pride needed to summon her back. This book and this series is definitely not perfect, but it is quick-paced, easy to read, and has very unique characters. If you enjoy a good urban fantasy with a romance aspect then I highly recommend this series. The first book is the longest but I think I read it in one sitting because it was so addictive. Definitely pick this up if you want something fun and quick. I haven't read these since 2015 but just talking about them is making me want to pick them up again.

Now for some honourable mentions!: 

• Eragon by Christopher Paolini (my favourite dragon book so far, but the series does go downhill after the second book in my opinion).
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (I don't think I need to explain this one to anyone)
• Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (another very popular YA book)
• House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas (everyone knows who SJM is at this point but I think this is easily the best book she's written so far, although the sequel wasn't fantastic).

So, those are my top five first book in a series! Let me know what your Top Five are below, or if you have a blog post then link it! Just in case anyone is new to this, Top Five Wednesday was created by Lainey (Gingerreadslainey on YouTube) and is now run by the Goodreads Group so that people can share more of their favourite (or sometimes least favourite) books in an interesting way. The people in the Group create weekly topics each month so Bloggers and YouTubers alike to discuss books. The group can be found here! And if you want to see more of my previous Top Five Wednesday Blog posts, you can click here!

Top Five Wednesday | Favourite Villains

Hello! Welcome to another Top Five Wednesday! This week's Top Five Wednesday is my top five favourite villains. Now, the trouble with favourite villains is that the best ones you end up hating, but the ones with some humanity can kind of become anti-heroes (which can make them not the same as traditional villains?). But I've chosen the first five villains that came to mind as the most memorable for me and they are a mixture of the two.

1. Count Olaf from A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

I just have to put Count Olaf on this list because he is equal parts ridiculous and terrifying - similar to how I would describe this series as a whole. This series holds a special place in my heart since I read it repeatedly throughout my childhood. A Series of Unfortunate Events follows the Baudelaire siblings who become orphans very early in book one. Each book shows them being sent to live with different people while Count Olaf appears in various disguises to try and steal their large fortune. The entire series is ridiculous but also hilarious and cleverly written. Count Olaf's schemes are very mustache-twirly and absurd, but he also has moments of terrifying villainy when he murders people or even when he just sits outside a room at night with his shiny, shiny knife. Overall, a great villain for a children's book series.

2. Kyle Haven from The Liveship Traders Trilogy by Robin Hobb

Now this is a villain I actually hate. Robin Hobb is fantastic at writing unlikeable characters. I genuinely spent the first two books of this trilogy seething in anger at this character, and he's not even the main villain of the story. The Liveship Traders is the second trilogy in Robin Hobb's series and is an adult fantasy trilogy following a large cast of characters. Ship of Magic is the first book of the Liveship Traders series and it tells the story of the fortunes (and misfortunes) of the Vestrit family. A liveship is a ship made of Wizardwood, a mystical substance, giving it magical properties. When three generations of a ship's owners die on board, a liveship "quickens", meaning that the ship awakens and becomes a sentient being with all the memories of the ancestors who have contributed to the ship's quickening. When the Vestrit family's ship quickens, arguments break out between the daughter who thought she would inherit the ship (Althea) and her brother-in-law, who actually inherits the ship (Kyle). Kyle is just so cruel and uncaring from the very start of the first book, and his unwillingness to listen or understand anyone else makes him so unlikeable throughout the whole series. And while I hate him, I really appreciate that it takes a good writer to create such a realistic villain.

3. Trin from The Greatcoats Series by Sebastian de Castell

Trin is another character who is just so evil throughout the series that it's hard to read sometimes (especially when it comes to the torture scenes in these books). The Greatcoats series follows... the Greatcoats. Trained in the fighting arts and the laws of Tristia, the Greatcoats are travelling Magisters upholding King’s Law. They are heroes. Or at least they were, until they stood aside while the Dukes took the kingdom, and impaled their King’s head on a spike. Now Tristia is on the verge of collapse. The Dukes bring chaos to the land, while the Greatcoats are scattered far and wide, reviled as traitors, their legendary coats in tatters. All they have left are the promises they made to King Paelis, to carry out one final mission. We follow three of the remaining Greatcoats: Falcio, Brasti and Kest, in this politically intriguing, humorous, and well-written set of books. There are many villains in these books who I love (including Duke Jillard) but Trin is one that especially stands out as particularly memorable.

4. Light Yagami from Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba & Takeshi Obata

Now Light is a weird villain, because you see pretty much all of Death Note from his perspective. You even start rooting for him, even when you know everything he's doing is wrong. Death Note is a manga series that follows Light Yagami, a teenager who find a book at school called a Death Note. When he writes someone's name in the book, they die a few minutes later (although there a lot more rules to using the Death Note than just that). Light decides to use the book to kill criminals but is soon hunted by the best detectives in the city. As I said, I really like this character because he's so obviously in the wrong, but he's so clever and manipulative that you actually want him to pull through so many times. I highly recommend this series to anyone new to manga if you enjoy horror/thrillers.

5. Adrius au Augustus from the Red Rising Series by Pierce Brown

The Red Rising trilogy follows Darrow, a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars liveable for future generations. But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity already reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and sprawling parks spread across the planet. All of the Reds are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class. Adrius aka The Jackal, is one of many villains in the Red Rising series. He is a complicated character and sees little value in anything other than achieving his goals, yet he still longs for his father's approval. He is needlessly cruel throughout, always trying to prove himself to his father. I found him to be so interesting and he always keeps the reader on their toes whenever he appears.

So, those are my top five villains! Let me know what your Top Five are below, or if you have a blog post then link it! Just in case anyone is new to this, Top Five Wednesday was created by Lainey (Gingerreadslainey on YouTube) and is now run by the Goodreads Group so that people can share more of their favourite (or sometimes least favourite) books in an interesting way. The people in the Group create weekly topics each month so Bloggers and YouTubers alike to discuss books. The group can be found here! And if you want to see more of my previous Top Five Wednesday Blog posts, you can click here!

Top Five Wednesday | Three-Word Titles

Hello! It's time to welcome back Top Five Wednesdays on my blog. It's been a long time since I did one of these but I'm excited to bring them back. This week's Top Five Wednesday is the top five 'Three-Word Titles' aka what are the best books in your collection that have three-word titles. I decided to rule out any books that started with 'The' because I thought that would be a bigger challenge and it would rule out some of the more obvious books. I really enjoyed this challenge and I'm bound to have missed something obvious but these are my top five:

1. Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson

This a YA thriller/mystery novel and it was easily one of my favourite books that I read last year. This book follows Claudia, whose best friend, Monday is missing, and only Claudia seems to notice. She and Monday have always been inseparable. So when Monday doesn’t turn up for the first day of school, Claudia is worried. When she doesn’t show for the second day, or second week, Claudia knows that something is wrong. But Monday’s mother refuses to give Claudia a straight answer, and Monday’s sister April is even less help. As Claudia digs deeper into her friend’s disappearance, she discovers that no one seems to remember the last time they saw Monday. How can a teenage girl just vanish without anyone noticing that she’s gone?

Honestly, that synopsis alone drew me in, but I wasn't expecting the rollercoaster that I got. This book is told in such a unique way and from such an interesting character perspective. It took me a long time to figure out the different chapters, but once I did, my mind was absolutely blown. Even without the brilliant plot twists, everything about this book is amazing: the writing, the intricate and complex characters, and the representation of different races and economic backgrounds. If you're an adult, don't be put off by the fact that it's a YA book. This is a book that truly holds up for both YA and adult and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for contemporary mystery.

2. Looking for JJ by Anne Cassidy

This is another YA thriller/mystery, although it definitely falls on the younger side of YA compared to Monday's Not Coming. I first read this book in 2005 (when I was probably a bit too young, to be honest), but it's one of those books that's stayed with me. This book follows three children who walked away from the cottages on the edge of town toward Berwick Waters. Later that day, only two of them came back. It is later discovered that one of the 10-year-old girl's was murdered. We find out very early on who committed the murder, but the mystery of the book lies in the how and why the murder happened.  The book alternates between Alice at age 10 and Alice at age 16 and explores her remorse and feelings about what happened. 

Overall, it's an incredible yet very disturbing book, and one that I think is very underrated in the book community.

3. Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

Long Way Down is a book written in verse and it follows Will, whose brother, Shawn, has been shot in a gang crime. So Will gets in the lift with Shawn's gun, determined to follow The Rules. However, on every floor that the lift stops at a person gets on, and they have a lot to say to Will. This is a haunting and beautifully written book about gun violence and the victims and repercussions of such violence. Honestly, it took me a while to get to this one because I used to think I didn't like poetry, but this book and a couple of others have convinced me that I just hadn't found the right books yet. This is a very quick read and I highly recommend it!

4. Life of Pi by Yann Martel

I'm sure pretty much everyone has heard of this book, especially since the film was so popular when it came out in 2012. I read this book before I watched the film and I absolutely loved it. This book is about Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, a Tamil boy from Pondicherry, and it explores issues of spirituality and practicality. He and his family are moving their zoo across the ocean when the boat sinks in a huge storm. Pi is left on a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, and he has to survive the next 229 days. The book felt like it was split into thirds, with the first third being pretty much entirely about various religions (which I know put some people off), but I found it all really interesting. The biggest thing for me was of course the twist, that I absolutely didn't see coming when I read it. The entire book was beautifully written and so cleverly crafted and just writing this has made me want to re-read it!

5. Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

I know Riley Sager is very hit and miss for people, with some people loving his books and others disliking them entirely. I've really enjoyed all of Riley Sager's books so far but this one has easily been my favourite. This book follows Maggie Holt. Twenty-five years ago, she and her parents moved into Baneberry Hall, a rambling Victorian estate in the Vermont woods. They spent three weeks there before fleeing in the dead of night, an ordeal Ewan later recounted in a nonfiction book called House of Horrors (very reminiscent of The Amityville Horror - if anyone has read/heard of that!). Today, Maggie is a restorer of old homes and too young to remember any of the events mentioned in her father’s book. But she also doesn’t believe a word of it. Ghosts, after all, don’t exist. When Maggie inherits Baneberry Hall after her father’s death, she returns to renovate the place to prepare it for sale. But Maggie starts experiences strange occurrences straight out of her father’s book, she starts to believe that what he wrote was more fact than fiction. 

I found this book so intriguing throughout. I think I read it in a day because I just needed to know what happened next. Although I did guess part of the ending, it didn't take away my enjoyment at all because there was always another twist. The atmosphere was also just incredible and it captured the haunted house feel so well. If you're looking for a thriller then I definitely recommend trying this one!

Weirdly, I struggled to find any fantasy books with three word titles even though that's what I primarily read! Also, even with taking out books with 'The' in the title, I found wayyyy too many books that I love so I had to name some of my honourable mentions: Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick, Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, Big Little Lies by Liane Moriaty, Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare.

So, those are my top five books with three-word titles (+ honourable mentions)! Let me know what your Top Five are below, or if you have a blog post then link it! Just in case anyone is new to this, Top Five Wednesday was created by Lainey (Gingerreadslainey on YouTube) and is now run by the Goodreads Group so that people can share more of their favourite (or sometimes least favourite) books in an interesting way. The people in the Group create weekly topics each month so Bloggers and YouTubers alike to discuss books. The group can be found here! And if you want to see more of my previous Top Five Wednesday Blog posts, you can click here!

Top 5 Wednesday | Top 5 Books to Read on My TBR

This week's Top Five Wednesday is the top five 'books on your TBR'. These are the books you’ve been meaning to read this year but just didn’t get to in the first half of 2020. This is a slightly belated post but I love discussing the books I want to get around to reading. I've picked a couple of backlist books from my TBR and also some newer purchases. Here are my top five!

1. Scythe by Neal Shusterman

I've owned this book for a few years now and I just know I'm going to enjoy it so it's about time I got around to reading it. Especially since the entire trilogy is now out and I own all of them. This book is set in a world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery: humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now Scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control. The book follows Citra and Rowan who are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own. Very excited to read this twist on a utopian novel.

2. You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

This is a recent purchase for me and I know it's being hyped all over booktube right now. Contemporaries aren't something I read too often but I do enjoy the occasional feel-good contemporary, so I'm looking forward to this one. Leah Johnson is also an own-voices black author and I'm so excited to read more black voices in books, because they are so underrepresented in publishing! This book follows Liz Lighty who is in high school and wants to go to college to study medicine. Unfortunately, she doesn't have enough money for tuition so she enters the Prom Queen competition in order to win the money to go to college. Another positive is that this book also has a sapphic romance!

3. The Black Prism by Brent Weeks

This is a series that I've been desperate to read since I first heard about it. I now have the majority of the series and I adore a long high fantasy series so I'm excited to start it. I'm aware this has been on a few TBR's now so this year I'm determined to get to it! In this book, Guile is the Prism, the most powerful man in the world. He is high priest and emperor, a man whose power, wit, and charm are all that preserves a tenuous peace. Yet Prisms never last, and Guile knows exactly how long he has left to live. When Guile discovers he has a son, born in a far kingdom after the war that put him in power, he must decide how much he's willing to pay to protect a secret that could tear his world apart. The magic system in this book sounds incredibly unique so I'm looking forward to picking it up.

4. The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli

I would like to get to this entire trilogy this year realistically, although I've heard very mixed things about this first book. This is a YA fantasy that includes dragons and, in all honesty, that's all I needed to hear to sell me on this book. I adore dragon fantasies but finding one that's done well for me has been so difficult, so I'm hoping to enjoy this one. Asha, daughter of the king of Firgaard, has grown up hearing in hushed whispers of the forbidden figures of the past. But it isn’t until she becomes the fiercest, most feared dragon slayer in the land that she takes on the role of the next Iskari—a lonely destiny that leaves her feeling more like a weapon than a girl.

5. Different Seasons by Stephen King

And finally, we have Different Seasons by Stephen King. If you've been following my blog for a few years then you'll know that Stephen King is one of my favourite authors and I try to read at least one or two King books a year, as I'm slowly making my way through his backlist. My then-boyfriend/now-husband bought me this book about 7 years ago and I haven't got around to reading it yet so I want to change that! This book is actually 4 short stories: Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, Apt Pupil, The Body, and The Breathing Method. Since two of these have film adaptations that I love, I need to get this book so I can finally read the original text. Stephen King is fantastic at creating characters and small-town situations so I'm looking forward to diving back into his writing.

So, those are my top five books that I want to read before the end of 2020! Let me know what your Top Five are below, or if you have a blog post then link it! Just in case anyone is new to this, Top Five Wednesday was created by Lainey (Gingerreadslainey on YouTube) and is now run by the Goodreads Group so that people can share more of their favourite (or sometimes least favourite) books in an interesting way. The people in the Group create weekly topics each month so Bloggers and YouTubers alike to discuss books. The group can be found here! And if you want to see more of my previous Top Five Wednesday Blog posts, you can click here!

Top Five Wednesday | Books I Want to Read Before 2019

This week's Top Five Wednesday is the top five 'books you want to read in 2019'. Our Goodreads goals are quickly closing in. What are you prioritising for the end of the year? This is a slightly belated post but I love discussing the books I want to get around to reading. Here are my top five!

1. The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee

I really enjoyed The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue which I read last month so I've been excited to get to the sequel/companion novel. This book follows Monty's sister, Felicity Montague, who has returned to England with two goals in mind—avoid the marriage proposal of a lovestruck suitor from Edinburgh and enroll in medical school. However, her intellect and passion will never be enough in the eyes of the administrators, who see men as the sole guardians of science. I'm actually currently reading this and I'm about halfway through. I really love Felicity's voice and I can't wait to finish this book.

2. The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

I really want to get to at least a couple of classics by the end of this year so I think adding this children's classic to the list will motivate me a bit more. I do really love classics but some of the 1000+ page ones are a bit more time consuming so I'll stick to a couple of shorter ones instead. I read this book when I was very young so this will be a re-read, but I've forgotten pretty much everything that wasn't in the Disney film at this point! I imagine everyone knows what this book is about, but just in case you don't: This follows the story of a boy named Mowgli who is raised by wolves in the jungle until the tiger, Shere Khan, discovers and tries to kill him.

3. Under the Dome by Stephen King

I like to read at least one Stephen King book a year and this year I've actually read two already, but this one just appeals to me so much that I can't wait to get around to reading it. It is the story of the small town of Chester's Mill, Maine which is inexplicably and suddenly sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. No one can get in and no one can get out.  The normal rules of society are suddenly changed and when food, electricity and water run short, the community begins to crumble. This concept is obviously similar to other books/films but I love Stephen King's writing so I'm really excited to see how he has written this story. 

4. The 7(1/2) Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

(Not to be mistaken for The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo which is a fantastic book, but has nothing to do with this one! Also why they've since added the 1/2 to the title so the two books aren't muddled up). I've been hearing about this book everywhere so I finally picked up a copy a few weeks ago. I've been told this book is like if Doctor Who met Agatha Christie (which, yes that did happen, but this more combines the genres rather than the characters). It follows Aiden Bishop who is trying to identify the killer of Evelyn Hardcastle. But every time the day begins again, Aiden wakes up in the body of a different guest. And some of his hosts are more helpful than others... This book sounds like such an interesting concept and I love this sort of mystery.

5. The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells

Again, this is another classic I've been meaning to pick up for years. I read H.G. Wells's The Invisible Man about ten years ago and absolutely loved it, so it's about time I picked up his more famous work. This was one of the first works of science fiction ever to be written. Even long before man had learned to fly, H.G. Wells wrote this story of the Martian attack on England. This story was popularised when it was broadcast over the radio in 1938 and many believed it was real. I'm really excited to finally read this book this year.

So, those are my top five book that I want to read before the end of 2018! Let me know what your Top Five are below, or if you have a blog post then link it! Just in case anyone is new to this, Top Five Wednesday was created by Lainey (Gingerreadslainey on YouTube) and is now run my Sam (ThoughtsonTomes on Youtube), so that people can share more of their favourite (or sometimes least favourite) books in an interesting way. Sam creates weekly topics for each month so Bloggers and YouTubers alike to discuss books. The group which lists the monthly topics can be found here! And if you want to see more of my previous Top Five Wednesday Blog posts, you can click here!

Top Five Wednesday | Books You Want to Read Before the End of 2018

This week's Top Five Wednesday is a 'Freebie', which means we can pick any archived topic from Top Five Wednesday to talk about. I've decided to go with the Top Five Books I Want to Read Before the End of the Year. As always, my TBR pile is huge (which is how I like it), but that means I need to prioritise those books I've been meaning to get to this year and haven't got around to yet. So, here are the five books I need to get to the most!

1. And I Darken Trilogy by Kiersten White

I finally have all three books in this trilogy and I've been really excited to get to this ever since I heard what I was about. A female Vlad the Impaler? Yes please.

2. Three Dark Crowns Trilogy by Kendare Blake

This is another one where I heard the synopsis and immediately bought the first book. It seems to be full of tropes that I almost always auto-buy: elemental magic; trials; interesting sibling relationships. The final book comes out this September so once I have that I plan on binge reading this trilogy.

3. Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas

Yes, I know. I can't believe I've not read this yet either. I bought this not long after it came out but when I didn't read it straight away, I decided to wait and re-read the whole series before the 7th and final book comes out in October (so excited!!). So I plan on re-reading them all soon and finally getting around to Tower of Dawn.

4. The Black Prism by Brent Weeks

Embarrassingly, this has been on a few TBR's on my blog and I've still not read it. I just keep getting distracted with other books (ahh first world problems). But, I at least want to read the first book in the series this year even if I don't continue them immediately.

5. Red Sister by Mark Lawrence

This book has only been on my TBR for a couple of months but, after hearing so many brilliant reviews of this grim-dark fantasy, I need to get to it soon. Nun-Assassins with strong female friendships has me so interested in this series.

So, those are my top five! Let me know what your Top Five are below, or if you have a blog post then link it. Just in case anyone is new to this, Top Five Wednesday was created by Lainey (Gingerreadslainey on YouTube) and is now run my Sam (ThoughtsonTomes on Youtube), so that people can share more of their favourite (or sometimes least favourite) books in an interesting way. Sam creates weekly topics for each month so Bloggers and YouTubers alike to discuss books. The group which lists the monthly topics can be found here. And if you want to see more of my previous Top Five Wednesday Blog posts, you can click here!