Hello my lovelies!

Have you seen the line up of authors for the Young Adult Literature Convention that takes place in London?! (Spoiler alert: V.E. Schwab, Patrick Ness, Alwyn Hamilton, Holly Bourne...!!) Check out the schedule here! In addition to all the wonderful panels and authors, they're setting up an Agents’ Arena.. which sounds terrifying, but I wanna goooooo.

*ahem*

It just happens that YALC falls on my birthday weekend... (I share a birthday with Harry Potter so now you finally have proof that I'm cool), and I think I'll treat myself and hopefully spend the entire weekend in London. So if you're around my corner of the world and you're planning on going - let me know! I'd love to meet up with people!
(Was that too many exclamation points? I'm too excited about this today.)

Anyway, I should stop rambling, yes?

SO MANY GOOD BOOKS THIS MONTH. Just like last month. And the month before. And... I digress. Here are my favourites I read in the past month (4/5 are YA. Do I read anything else nowadays?): Am I Normal Yet? by Holly Bourne. I buddy read this with the wonderful Ely @ Tea and Titles, and I think we both really connected with this book. There are so many important topics in it: feminism (the Spinster club!!), friendships (no bitchy girls!), and how hard it is to share about things sometimes (e.g. mental health). Every Exquisite Thing by Matthew Quick. Wonderful contemporary YA. There's a story inside the story that affects people in interesting ways... Give it a go, it's really good! Traitor's Blade by Sebastien De Castell. First in a high fantasy trilogy, the dialogue in this one is so funny, the plot is all twisty-turny and you're continuously surprised while reading it. If you're into fantasy, get on it! Sunbolt by Intisar Khanani. Such an awesome YA fantasy novella. You'll have to binge it, trust me. (The sequel is a lot longer so if you get hooked you can go straight into that one!)  The Problem with Forever by Jennifer L. Armentrout. This is YA romance, really, and as you may know, I don't read a lot of romance. Loved loved loved this one.

Also my baby sister had a baby boy yesterday! Guess who's a happy auntie who gets to visit them today?!

Okay, lovelies! Let me know if you're planning on going to YALC! Have you read any of my recommendations? Also, feel free to throw recommendations at me ;)

Hello lovelies! It's MAY!

This means I have a few ARC reading challenge updates to do, but firstly:

I've looked through everything I read in April, and I've picked a top 5, so here are some books I would definitely recommend for your TBR. Turns out they're all YA this month...!

{Click covers for Goodreads & titles for my reviews} Radio Silence by Alice Oseman.   Absolutely adored this one! Contemporary YA awesomeness. Alice Oseman understands what being a teenager is like and writes about it in a really relatable way. When We Collided by Emery Lord.   Another contemporary YA story, this one features two lovely protagonists, Vivi and Jonah. Possibly my favourite YA book that talks about mental illness. The Sign of One by Eugene Lambert.    YA sci-fi, with a really cool premise relating to all identical twins being separated at a young age because one of them is 'evil.' Obviously, the evil ones are hanged at a yearly celebration... Slightly morbid? Maybe. But super interesting! The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury.   An Aladdin retelling that features an adorable romance and some pretty kick-ass female characters. That is basically all you need to know. Definitely worth a read! Passenger by Alexandra Bracken.   A YA novel about time travel. I had some issues with this one, but still enjoyed it thoroughly. Passenger seems to divide people into two camps: the not-impressed and the absolutely-loved-it. Give it a shot and let me know what you think!

During the month of April, I actually managed to read a surprising amount of ARCs. My goal was six, but I ended up finishing ten! I've linked the covers to my reviews either here on the blog, or on Goodreads.

  

  

  

As for the month of May... I'm taking part in another ARC Challenge.

You can check out the details here.

My goal is to read about 8 of these in the next month... Hopefully more than that though, honestly.

  

  

  

    

Must stop requesting review copies until I'm caught up.

How was April? Do you have any big plans (reading or otherwise) for May? Let me know!

I'm catching up on comments today - sorry about the delay lovelies!
My cat got sick and since I'm not home, my mum took him to the vet and they had to put him down.

So I'm really sad today, and I figured I'd share with you some of my favourite books to read when I'm in need of some comfort.

84, Charing Cross Road An epistolary novel featuring the correspondence between the author Helen Hanff, and a bookshop in London. The letters are delightful and witty and wonderful. Pride and Prejudice Lizzie Bennett and Mister Darcy. What's there not to love? I've read it so many times that I just remember every scene and it just makes me really happy. (My BFF hates this one though...) The Wee Free Men The Wee Free Men was my first ever Terry Pratchett book! Tiffany Aching is a young witch who allies herself with the Wee Free Men - "a clan of sheep-stealing, sword-wielding, six-inch-high blue men who are as fierce as they are funny." Howl's Moving Castle I've gushed about this one before - a girl gets cursed by a witch, and meets a wizard who is said to eat girls' hearts. There's a fire demon, a lot of magic, and wonderful storytelling. Anne of Green Gables Another childhood favourite in which orphaned Anne Shirley finds a new home. I love these because during the series you see Anne grow up from a young girl to an adult with her own family.

What do you read when you're sad? Do you eat your own weight in ice cream?