...and Happy Halloween I guess, whatever. hahaha.

Tomorrow is November 1st, which means writing time. I'm getting super excited to start, and excited about my premise. My story is about a girl who is doing NaNoWriMo, who wakes up on November 2nd with the villain of her story in her  room, unhappy that things aren't going his way.

This is my second time doing NaNoWriMo, and I'm a little nervous this time because I'm much more busy with work and life this time around but I still have faith.

I live in New Zealand, and November 1st at 5am also marks the rugby world cup final, so I will have to stop writing to watch the game, but at this stage I can't decide if I should stay up until midnight and write until 5am-ish or if I should nap and write later after the game is. What should I do?

Also, tell me about your premise! :) I would love to be buddies on NaNoWriMo website.

I AM PARTICIPATING IN NANOWRIMO... again.

For anyone who doesn't know, I not only love to read, I also love to write. I love writing stories no one has read before, and it is one of my dreams to one day get published. The idea of writing someones favourite book is unfathomable.

NaNoWriMo (in case anyone has been living under a rock) is National Novel Writing Month. Even though it is now largely international. It occurs in November, and the aim is to power out 50,000 words of your novel in 1 month. essentially... the first draft. Sounds daunting? It is. Sounds hard? Of course it is. Sounds insanely fun? *ding ding ding* we have a winner. NaNoWriMo is insanely fun and the community is amazing. You should all add me as a NaNo buddy here, and we can help each other through this insanely awesome/challenging/rewarding time. I will be posting NaNo updates on twitter, where I love to participate in word sprints, and right here.

Hello all! ...... *crickets*

I know I haven't posted on here in many many months but I haven't forgotten about this beauty. Today I wanted to do a quick review of Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, with no spoilers. This is the first book in a trilogy, and I had been dragging my feet about reading it for ages! But a book blogger I follow on youtube, Katytastic, finally convinced me to make this the next book in my TBR

This book is set in Prague, and is about Karou, a young art student who runs mysterious "errands" for Brimstone, who lives elsewhere..

Karou has become one of my new favourite heroines, blue hair and all. She totally kicks ass

Prague was magical as a setting; Laini Taylor made the streets and locations in the book seem intriguing.

It was absolutely beautifully written, and I found myself taking my time savouring each well crafted sentence. I have already bought the next two books in the series and can't wait to dive in.

There is one phrase I can't escape when I read books, no matter where I turn, it seems to be in every single book I read.
...Any guesses what it is? Anyone?

"I let out the breath I didn't realise I was holding"

Or something along those lines. This phrase, or a variation of it is in every single book I read. I always show the line to my boyfriend when I find it, and he laughs. He is convinced it is an in-joke with all authors, and they sneak it in on purpose.

What do you think?
(Ps. Sorry to anyone who didn't notice this already! Once you know, you will never be able to read past this sentence without rolling your eyes.)

Rating: 5/5

This was a one night read. Started at 10.30pm finished at 3am.

As one of the first New Adult books I read, this really got me into the genre. The name and the cover put me off, because I thought it was going to be some sappy smut, but the story was great. Jaqueline is the protagonist and is super strong. She puts her dreams of becoming a musician aside to follow her long-term boyfriend to college, only to be broken up with a few weeks in. (not a spoiler - this is in the blurb). At a party, one of her ex-boyfriends friends attempts to rape her, and Lucas, a total stranger, appears to save the day. Lucas is in her class at college and is a total mystery - never taking notes and always drawing. This book deals with the subject of rape very well, portraying realistic responses from the victim and the community. This book focused very much on Jacqueline growing and finding herself after a vicious attack rather than just the relationship blossoming in the book. Tammara Webber's writing style flows perfectly, reading this was just like watching a movie or listening to a song.

Lucas Maxfield is the ultimate book boyfriend - I saw the cute twist coming, but I still had a silly grin on my face when Jaqueline found out. The next book in the series is Breakable. Breakable is Lucas's story. It includes scenes from before Easy, then covers all that is in Easy and some after - all from Lucas's POV. I listened to this next instalment on an audiobook with one of my favourite narrators - Zacchary Webber.

Arrrgggghhhh!!!

"Don't judge a book by it's cover". Everyone and their mother has heard this wise phase - which is completely true. However as a book 'collector' I can't pass up a beautiful book - even if I have heard nothing about it. Today I will share with you some books in my collection I bought because they were too beautiful to pass up.

I nearly never buy hardcover books, because they cost ~$35 NZD in a store, and online ~$20. I can buy two paperbacks for that price, so I tend to prefer to buy paperbacks. However the few hardcovers I do have are b-e-a-u-tiful editions of books, where I couldn't bear if the cover got damaged at all, or, god forbid, bent! (dun-dun- DUUUN!!)

Wow. Wow. Wow.

These Broken Stars. This book is serious eye candy! One look at this cover, and I knew I would have to buy it before I had even read the premise. But it turns out I loved it! and I am so glad I bought it. This sci-fi book is a survival novel about Lilac, the daughter of the richest man in the universe, and a war hero - Tarver. The space liner they are on drops out of hyperspace and their escape pod lands on an unexplored planet (It reminded me a lot of Titanic when I was reading it). These characters are cynical, witty and fierce. This books was a great read, and I can't wait to read the next book in the series, a companion novel, which is equally as beautiful...

Urgh, I need this in my life.

This next book wasn't exactly a 'cover-buy' because I was so desperate to own it anyway, but I am talking about My True Love Gave to Me by Every YA Author Ever!

Modelled by my cat Max

I saw this book on Book Depository and immediately bought it without question, I went onto goodreads, and saw someone post about coloured page edges. What!? I immediately started digging a little (I couldn't wait a few weeks for my book to arrive in the post!) and found...

PINK PAGE EDGES!!!

Wow. I had never seen a book with pink page edges before. I have seen the US edition of this book, and it is super cool too - illustrations of each of the 12 couples in the book ice-skating. But this UK edition is so much better. I loved this book, I read it in December before Christmas (duh!) and rated it 5/5. Obviously there were some stories I liked more than others but my favourites were Midnight by Rainbow Rowell and It's a Yuletide Miracle Charlie Brown by Stephanie Perkins.

Next on my insanely beautiful covers list is Alienated by Melissa Landers.

Those colours are insane!

Another book I bought, without even looking into it much (whoops!), but it turned out to be a fantastic read! This book is about an alien exchange programme. Cara hosts an L'eihr exchange student - Aelyx.

Finally, I want to show you one of my favourite series with beautiful covers - the Shatter Me trilogy by Tahereh Mafi

I've seen this tag floating around on the interwebs, and thought I would give it a go, to give you a little more insight into who I am..

I forgot to take a photo for this post - so here is an old picture of one of my smaller bookcases for all your bookshelf porn pleasure.

How old are you?
22. Every time I tell anyone that I get Taylor's Swift song circling around in my head... 'Oh, I don't know about you.. but I'm feeling twenty-twoooo'

What book are you currently reading
 I always have a few books in different formats going (physical, audiobook) so I can consume books in any situation, so currently..
Physical Book: Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins. This is the second book in the Hex Hall trilogy, and it's a light, funny read
Ebook: Wicked by Jennifer L. Armentrout. I pretty much love everything she writes, urgh.
Audiobook: Yes Please! by Amy Poehler

What are you wearing?
Saucy! I'm wearing a black skater dress, tights and a bright blue spring coat.

OTP?
My god, this question is near impossible. Maybe Juliette and Warner from Shatter Me trilogy..

Blogger or Wordpress?
I'm brand new to the blogging world... and I mean brand new... I don't even know what wordpress is. I just started a blog with Blogger because it popped up when I googled blogs.

Going outside being active or staying inside reading a books?
Even though it's summer and the weather is beautiful (It was 27 degrees C today!).. I'd pick inside, because I have a nasty little cold... bleugh.

What is the last book you read?
The last book I completed was Never Never by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher.. I couldn't put it down. I can't believe they would leave me with that ending!

What is the book you are going to read next?
I don't often plan the books I will read. I will simply see what I feel like when I am done with Demonglass. It might be the last book in that trilogy (spell bound) or I might pick something completely different.

E-books - yes or no?
Yes. Two years ago I would be saying no way, but I do love my kindle. I have a kindle paperwhite, and it isn't backlit (except when I turn it on) so I can read it in the sun. Also eBooks are super convenient for travelling, and cost a whole bunch less. Although I will always love the feel of a real book in my hands over an eBbook.

Who is the last person you tweeted?
I haven't tweeted yet... Yikes. In the past I have stayed away from social media like twitter and I have just signed up but haven't tweeted yet.

Who's blog did you look at last?
The Little Engine That Couldn't

Who is your favourite blogger?
I don't really know any blogs! I am brand new to the blogging world, tell me your blog and I would love to check it out!

Who is your favourite booktuber(s)?
Katytastic, Christine, Kassidy Voinche but I love soooo many booktubers!

What do you do when someone tells you reading is boring?
I would slap them with a book (not really) then make it my mission to match them with a book they would love.

Who is the last author you spoke to?
I don't think I have ever spoken to an author :( I will get into twitter and then maybe someday

Who is the last person you texted?
My friend Coco (I miss you girl!)

Who is your all time favourite book character?
That's so hard! Maybe Rose from the Vampire Academy series

What is your preferred drink whilst reading?
Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. Or sometimes tea.

If you hated reading what would you do instead?
Probably watch Netflix.

How many bookshelves do you have?
Two huge 2 metre bookcases. Two smaller ones currently in storage and a bunch of 1 meter cube bookcases.

If you had the choice to meet all your favourite book bloggers or all your favourite authors who would you choose?
My favourite authors. I like to dabble in writing, and I would love to know all about their inspiration, favourite writing spots and other facts. Plus I don't know any book blogs yet - tell me about your blog below!

Insta-love - yes or no?
No. No. A billion times no. Insta-love ruins great story lines, and makes me roll my eyes. When I was younger I didn't mind insta-love (I actually probably thought it was more romantic) but now I have grown up there is nothing that bugs me more than insta-love

Favourite author?
Colleen Hoover and Jennifer L. Armentrout probably. They are definitely both insta-buy authors. They publish anything. I will buy it.

What is the number-one book on your wish list?
Beautiful Redemption by Jamie McGuire (releases Jan 27th) and Confess by Colleen Hoover (Releases in March 2015) are on my wish list!

Do you prefer books with female or male protagonists?
I can obviously relate more to female protagonists more often, but I love reading contemporary romances from a male POV

What is your favourite book to movie adaptation?
I love the hunger games movies, especially Catching Fire!

What is the last song you listened to?
This one

Which do you enjoy reading more - negative review or positive reviews?
Typically negative reviews - they can be absolutely hilarious and scathing. But I love positive reviews of books I haven't read yet - the worst thing is to be put off a book I haven't even started.

Who do you tag?
Everyone reading this!

This review is spoiler free
Rating 5/5

This book is the first in 'The Maddox Brothers' series. Which is a companion series to Beautiful Disaster. I read Beautiful Disaster and Walking Disaster in 2013, and I loved them. By that I mean I started the book at 8pm, and finished it at 3am that same night, so I knew these books were a must read. I finished this book in a similar amount of time, and as you can see I read this one on my kindle (I seem to read books super fast when I read on my kindle)

The story is about Trenton and Cami. Cami goes to college and tends the bar at The Red Door, her life is complicated and she is in a long distance relationship when she meets Trenton.
Trenton is Tavis's older brother, he works in a tattoo parlour, in the town where the college is. Trenton, much like Travis (and I'm sure any Maddox boy in the future books) was very charming, and a name like Maddox pretty much spells trouble. He was more gentle and caring than Travis, but covered with tattoos and an ultimate book boyfriend.

This book takes place at the same time as Beautiful Disaster, so there was some overlap as it runs parallel to the story. It was interesting to see some scenes from BD with Travis and Abby from a different POV.

Jamie McGuire writes complicated, likeable characters, with rich family histories and backgrounds. Her writing style is fluent, fast paced and addictive! If you like New Adult contemporary, you should 100% give this book a go - but I would first recommend reading Beautiful Disaster before starting the Maddox Brothers series.

Uh.. I went book shopping. These are some of my latest additions to my book collections. Lately I have been on a bit of a contemporary kick, and I noticed once these all arrived I was straying away a little. You may ask why I would buy an entire trilogy or the first few books before I have even read the first one. Well my dear readers, I love to marathon my books. Once I read the first book in a series, more often than not, I need to pick up the next book immediately.. and books in book stores in New Zealand are insanely overpriced. I can buy an entire trilogy on Book Depository cheaper than I can typically get one book in a book shop here, so I tend to buy them all in one go - waiting 2 weeks for the book to arrive is pure torture!

The first series I picked up is the Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson. I picked this up because it is being read as the Booksplosion Book of the Month, which I love to participate in. This is an epic fantasy series, which I will be going into not knowing much (my favourite way to start books) but if you want to read a bit of the premise see the goodreads blurb. As it turns out this trilogy is the first in a 'trilogy of trilogies'

Ever since I discovered the world of book blogging and booktube about 2 years ago, my savings account has dropped and my book collection had grown from about 15 to 250 books. Yikes. That's a lot of books.

This past weekend I moved houses, which meant moving aaaall those books, and that was certainly a daunting task. A few weeks before I knew I was moving I cataloged all my books into a google spreadsheet, a snippet of it is shown below

My organisational system for cataloging my books

But prior to moving I stared at my shelves, and I could definitely see more than a couple of books I knew I didn't want to keep. Giving away books is hard, I imagine it is similar to the feeling of giving up your first born child (I kid... I think). But I was utterly ruthless going through my shelves. My plan was to get rid of the following types of books:

1. Books I have previously read, and know I will never read again.
2. Second books in a series I am not super excited about, where I do not own the first book. 
3. Books that I do not know the premise of/am not interested in.

No spoilers will be in this review.

I love this cover!!!

First of all, I am so glad I bought these editions of the book. I admit, I am a sucker for a pretty cover, and boy oh boy, this one is a looker. 

Hello everyone!!!

...... *crickets*

Yes, well hello to anyone who does read this. My name is Gabby, and I love to gab about books. I am 22, and am a Science nerd - I'm hoping to start my PhD in Molecular Microbiology. However, in the mean time I have a lot of spare time on my hands, and what better way to spend it than to talk about books. Books i've read, books i'm reading, books I want to buy, book hauls, book sales. etc. etc. etc. 

I've never run a blog before (with the exception of a hormone fuelled fangirl tumblr blog of pop-punk singers back in 2008 - yikes!) so bear with me while I try and figure out the ins and outs of this. 

I love different types of books. I read mostly YA fantasy/dystopian/sci-fi but I also really like New Adult contemporary. I do dabble in all sorts of books though, so recommend me your favourite. I have a link to my goods read page to the left, and my reading challenge, so check out my shelves to see if you like the kinds of books I read, and maybe add me as a friend! 

So welcome to my book nook, grab a coffee and stay a while.