Review for Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard 
Publisher: Tor
Release: 14th January 2016
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Source: Copy received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Synopsis: 

"In a continent on the edge of war, two witches hold its fate in their hands.

Young witches Safiya and Iseult have a habit of finding trouble. After clashing with a powerful Guildmaster and his ruthless Bloodwitch bodyguard, the friends are forced to flee their home. 

Safi must avoid capture at all costs as she's a rare Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lies. Many would kill for her magic, so Safi must keep it hidden - lest she be used in the struggle between empires. And Iseult's true powers are hidden even from herself.

In a chance encounter at Court, Safi meets Prince Merik and makes him a reluctant ally. However, his help may not slow down the Bloodwitch now hot on the girls' heels. All Safi and Iseult want is their freedom, but danger lies ahead. With war coming, treaties breaking and a magical contagion sweeping the land, the friends will have to fight emperors and mercenaries alike. For some will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch."

Review 
Truthwitch is one of the most highly anticipated releases of 2016 so I was beyond excited when I got to read this way back in August 2015. Despite following all of the hype for this book on the journey to publication, and knowing from the very beginning that it was going to be something truly special, I still don’t think I was prepared for what this book would come to mean to me nor realised that it would be such a game changer for YA Fantasy.

What I loved most about Truthwitch, and what makes it so special to me, is that this book has an epic female friendship at its heart which is something I haven’t seen before in Fantasy, at least not on the same scale as Truthwitch. In many ways Truthwitch is a celebration of female friendships those strong, lifelong friendships that become such a part of you that you can’t tell where you end and your best friend begins. If you’re lucky enough to have a friendship as strong as that like I have, it is immediately recognisable in this book and is finally given a name that feels right, that goes deeper than best friend: Threadsister.

Truthwitch follows Threadsisters Safiya and Iseult’s adventures in the Witchlands. Safiya is a Truthwitch meaning that she has the power to tell if somebody is telling her a truth or a lie – a rare highly sought after power. Iseult is a Threadwitch meaning that she can see the ties and relationships people have with those they love. Together the girls are an unstoppable force and are on the run from those who wish to capture Safiya and use her in the war against the Empires.

The world building and pacing in this book knocked me off my feet and kept me turning the pages. The threads of the world building are so cleverly weaved throughout this story so that you’re constantly learning new information right up until the very end. There is literally never a dull moment as you’re continuously discovering more about this world and characters.

As well as Safiya and Iseult’s epic friendship there are also so many ship potentials to have fun with. Susan Dennard excels at intense, steamy chemistry between her characters which was fun (and at times torturous!) to read.

Truthwitch is a bright and shining new addition to the Fantasy genre with an unforgettable friendship between two daring female protagonists at its heart. Don’t miss this lavish new adventure.

Truthwitch Blog Tour: Friendships Discussion With Alyssa and Susan

Hi everyone! I'm absolutely thrilled to be taking part in the Truthwitch pen pal blog tour today to celebrate the release of the phenomenal Truthwitch by Susan Dennard! Truthwitch was one of the best books that I read last year and I'm so excited that it's finally out in the US and will be out in the UK on the 14th January. One of my favourite aspects of Truthwitch is the kickass friendship between our two heroines Safiya and Iseult, so for our stop on the blog tour Alyssa from The Eater of Books and I will be hosting a friendship based, non-spoiler discussion on Truthwitch. Stay tuned until the end as we will have Truthwitch author herself Susan Dennard join us!

                    

Alyssa & Jessica: Hey everyone! Welcome to the Truthwitch blog tour! Today’s stop is hosted by Alyssa (USA) and Jessica (UK). We’ll be discussing Truthwitch in the most non-spoilery way that we can. Join us in the comments!

Alyssa: Truthwitch was quite the whirlwind! What’s one word that encompasses how you felt about the book when you finished? For me, it was probably something along the lines of “OMG”. Although that’s technically not a word… or actually it’s three words… but you get the idea. The book was just WOW!

Jessica: I think for me it was “FINALLY” I don’t think I realised how much I was craving a book about an epic female friendship until I read Truthwitch. Sure, you see strong female friendships in contemporary all the time, but it wasn’t until I read Truthwitch that I realised how lacking they are in fantasy. Usually the heroine is too busy trying to save the world to keep up with her girlfriends so it was fantastic to see two heroines go on an adventure together here.

Alyssa: I didn’t think of that! I think I was more concerned about the fate of our protagonists. :D But that’s so true - YA non-contemporary lit has a bit of a scarcity in strong female friendships. I think one of the the reasons why I love fantasy the most is because of the epic story - but it’s so important to show some female solidarity in what used to be a heavily male-dominated genre. One of my favorite female friendships in non-contemporary YA is Ismae and Sybella’s, from Robin LaFevers’ His Fair Assassins series (one of my favorite series in YA!). Despite being separated for a book and a half, the pair maintain their strong connection and stand with each other with the duchess. They grew up together and fought together and learned the ways of Death together - not an easy friendship!

Jessica: I love that series too! I think it’s brilliant that Truthwitch is bringing female friendships into the limelight especially for a teenage audience in YA. As a teenager the most important thing to me were my friendships and so it’s great to see that being reflected more and more in YA. Truthwitch got me thinking about other strong female friendships that I’ve loved in books. Staying in the fantasy genre I love the friendship between Celaena and Nehemia in the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas . I think that Sarah and Susan’s friendship is reflected in their own characters which is wonderful to see.

Alyssa: Celaena and Nehemia’s friendship surprised me! I wasn’t expecting them to be so deeply connected, but I loved how their friendship came about. It’s such a beautiful reflection of Sarah and Susan’s relationship! As well as Safi and Iseult’s friendship. I love seeing authors who are such good friends! Another set of powerful relationships in YA fantasy is the six girls in the Waterfire Saga by Jennifer Donnelly. There are six girls who are linked together by ancient magic, and while they had a rocky start when they learned about each other, their friendship and connection became very unshakeable. Especially Serafina and Neela’s! They are like sisters. All of these strong friendships show that there can be an epic plot and all the impending doom of saving the world, but a girl can always have time for friends! And other relationships, amirite?

Jessica: Speaking of other relationships, who are you shipping in Truthwitch!? As well as friendships Sooz does romantic relationships so, so well. I could practically feel the chemistry sizzling off the page for some couples! There is a ball scene early on in Truthwitch that had me blushing! My favourite ship though is a bit spoilery so I don’t want to say too much here but let’s just say it involves Iseult and had me feeling ALL OF THE FEELS come the end of the book!

Alyssa: Oh my goshhhhh, I ship Merik and Safi so hard! I think by now, most people know at least about this couple. There are (in my opinion) two other ships in the book BUT *zips lips*. For any readers interested in a swoony Merik/Safi scene, I shared one during the Waterwitch Babes blog tour! One of my favorite scenes - along with the ballroom scene. I loooove the pair’s banter. There are two other pairs, one of which is not quite a ship - yet! What do you think - will Sooz go in that direction in the next books? :D

Jessica: I think she will! I’ve spoken to a couple of friends who have read it and they seem to think the same which I’m very excited about.

Alyssa: It would be so great! I love that pair. My favorite ship has to be Merik and Safi though. While I love the girls, Merik is my favorite character - he’s got a bit of a temper, which I love. He’s also so duty-bound and driven, and he has good intentions and a fierceness about him that I really like. He’s so devoted to Nubrevna, which is honorable and respectable. But mostly, I like his temper. The first meeting between him and Safi is precious!

Jessica: I’ve seen a lot of love for Merik! I think my favourite character has to be Iseult. I can see a lot of Iseult and Safi’s relationship between myself and my best friend. When we took the quiz on the Truthwitch website to find out which character we are I wasn’t the least bit surprised when she got Safi and I got Iseult. I see a lot of myself in Iseult, she’s very relatable to me so I think that if I had to choose she would be my favourite character.

I see you’re in the Water clan - are you a Waterwitch then? I love all of the different types of witchery in this book and can never decide which type of power I would like to have! I took a quiz (yes, I am addicted to these quizzes okay?) that placed me as a Waterwitch but I also love the idea of being a Wordwitch! If any readers would like to find out what type of witch they’d be you can take the quiz here.

Alyssa: Yes and no! I was placed as a Voidwitch when I took the quiz, which I took twice (“Void is the element of power. It is creative and inventive and dark. Your choices reflected an original mind, open to many things. Void is the possibility of everything.” - I’m okay with that!). BUT I definitely identify with the Waterwitches - as a Waterwitch clan of Sooz’s Witchlanders street team. I love the street team! It’s a lot of fun and we do tons of creative promotional stuff, rather than spammy repetitive messages. Sooz is fantastic!

I think being a Waterwitch would be epic - the Waterwitch in Truthwitch is one of my favorite characters. I think being a Poisonwitch would be interesting (as it is a subset of Waterwitchery)! I’m a chemistry nerd so the thirst for that type of knowledge is there. I cannot wait to discover more types of witches in the future books! Do you think we’ll get to meet more rare types, like Truthwitches or witches from the Void like Aeduan?

Jessica: I LOVE the street team. I have a few friends who are part of it and it looks so fun! Ohhh you’re right a Poisonwitch would be so interesting. I love that there is so much potential for different types of magic in Truthwitch and I definitely think that more types will get revealed throughout the series. I felt like in Truthwitch we were only just being introduced to this world and new magic system and that Sooz has so much more in store for us! Because I got to read Truthwitch early there is such a long wait for book two and it’s already killing me! Trying to keep this spoiler free, what would you like to see from the next book?

Alyssa: Ahem, more from the ships! Safi and Merik (it IS called Windwitch!), but also development of the one ship that we shan’t spoil! I’d also like to see Safi develop and wield her Truthwitch power, which I think is very probable. I also think we’ll see a lot more of Aeduan and his internal struggle with certain… things. And you?

Jessica: Most of the things that I want to see more of are spoilery! Let’s just say that I’d love to learn more about Safi and Iseult’s friendship and what that means for this world. I’d also love to see more of Aeduan and the ship that we can not spoil!

Alyssa & Jessica: Thanks for reading our discussion *cough* fangirling *cough* of Truthwitch. We’d now like to welcome Truthwitch author Susan Dennard to join the discussion and answer our question for her.

Alyssa & Jessica: If you and your friends lived in the Witchlands, what would you get up to?

Susan: If my friends and I lived in the Witchlands…Well, as much as I’d like to say we’d be down in the Pirate Republic of Saldonica raising a ruckus, let’s be honest! My friends and I (most of whom are authors) would probably live in the canal-filled, trade hub of Veñaza City. We’d all be Wordwitches (able to magically manipulate spoken and written word to persuade or tell fantastic stoires), and we’d probably sit in a coffee shop all day while we waxed poetic. ;)

Hmmmm, the pirate option was way more fun, wasn’t it?

 If you've read Truthwitch feel free to join in with our discussion in the comments! And make sure to follow the rest of the blog tour for more Truthwitch goodness. 

 Find out more about Susan and her books at: http://susandennard.com/

My Top 10 Favourite Books of 2015

Hello everyone and Happy New Year! I'm so excited for a new year of books and blogging to begin but first we have to get out with the old, to get in with the new and so to wrap up my reading for 2015 today I'm sharing with you my top ten favourite books read last year.

I managed to read 123 books so getting it down to 10 was hard and there are so many wonderful books that didn't make this list that I loved too. These ten books aren't necessarily the best, most accomplished, well written books I read this year but rather personal favourites that left a lasting impression on me. I'm going to be counting down in order finishing on my number one favourite book of 2015 so let's get started!

10

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli 

What I loved about Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda is that despite being a LGBT book it doesn't feel like a LGBT book and what I mean by that is that this is simply a love story that just happens to be between two guys. There are so many fantastic books out there about coming out and what it's like to be a gay teenager that are so profound and moving and important but with this book the focus was on the romance and I loved the normality of it. This book felt like a turning point in LGBT fiction for me and I adored everything about it. 

 9

Winter by Marissa Meyer 

The Lunar Chronicles is such a fantastic series all round but I think what made Winter especially impressive is how Marissa Meyer managed to tie in four different fairytales into one book giving each of them enough time to wrap up, not only with the plot of Winter, but with their individual stories. Despite this book being a 823 page monster I was constantly gripped by this finale and never wanted it to end. Now that is an accomplishment!

 8

The Murder Most Unladylike Series by Robin Stevens 

I'm totally cheating here and including all three books in this series because I read them all this year and can't choose between them - they are all so good! The Murder Most Unladylike series as a whole is some of the most fun I've had with reading this year. This might be a Middle Grade series but it's so enjoyable for any age group. The series is set in 1934 and follows the adventures of Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong as they start their own detective agency when a murder happens at their boarding school. This is a series that just makes me so happy and I can't wait for the fourth installment in 2016. 

7

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard 

Luckily for you guys Truthwitch is finally out in two days time and I'm so jealous of everyone who has yet to read it! I got to read a US ARC of this back in August and since then I've been obsessed with this book (to put it mildly.) My favourite thing about Truthwitch that I think makes it stand out from all other YA Fantasy out there at the moment is that at the centre of this story is the friendship between two girls Safiya and Iseult. It was so refreshing to see a Fantasty novel with friendship at its heart. Truthwitch is in many ways a celebration of strong female friendship and is such a special book for me.

 6

One by Sarah Crossan 

One is probably the most unique and moving book that I read in 2015. It's the first book that I've read that's written in free verse and I was taken aback by how beautiful I found it to read. One follows Grace and Tippi and their life as conjoined twins. I don't think another book made me cry as hard as this book did last year.

5

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab 

You know those books that completely transport you to somewhere else? So much so that you look up from reading and forget where you are for a moment? Well A Darker Shade of Magic did that for me. I was so caught up in this world of grey, red, white and black that even now I just have to close my eyes and I can imagine it so clearly. V.E. Schwab's writing is astounding and I'm so excited for A Gathering of Shadows to be released this year!

 4

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller 

Hello, heartbreak Madeline Miller be thy name. To put it simply this is one of the greatest love stories I've ever read and I can't actually talk about it all that much because I start to cry. Needless to say that this genre isn't my usual hangout but OMG IT DOESN'T MATTER! If you like books at all you need to read this book.

 3

Am I Normal Yet? by Holly Bourne 

Oh, obviously! Seriously, if you know me at all then you'll know that this book was going to make my top ten. I think that out of all of the books on this list Am I Normal Yet? was the one that I had the most personal connection with. This book is about OCD and feminism and it just hit my heart in all the right places. I'm pretty sure that for as long as she keeps writing, Holly's books will make it into my favourites list every year.

 2

The Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson 

Yes, I'm cheating again by including the whole series. Just one? Shut up! You can't make me choose! Ahem. So when I tried to review the first book in this series The Final Empire I stared at a blank space for some time and ended up just typing "Epic" and leaving it at that because this series made all of my words seem worthless and futile when trying to describe it. Brandon Sanderson quickly became my Fantasy King last year and this year I made an actual New Years resolution to "read more Brandon Sanderson" that guy is a freaking word magician and if you like fantasy and haven't read the Mistborn series yet then you are missing out.

 *drum rolls* 

1

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo 

In case you hadn't guessed already from my not-so-subtle hints all over the internetz Six of Crows is my official favourite book of 2015. If you've read the Grisha trilogy Six of Crows is a bit like that, only on steroids. It also includes a brilliant cast of diverse, questionable characters who will become the characters that you care about MOST IN THE ENTIRE WORLD because they are so messed up yet precious. As well as being set in an epic fantasy world and having the best cast of characters of the year, there is also a heist because Leigh obviously didn't feel like this was enough already. Six of Crows was everything I love rolled into one and it's hard to imagine that anything other than the sequel will ever compare to it.

 So there you have it, did any of these books feature in your favourite books of 2015? 

Looking back on this list 2016 has a lot to live up to! Bring it on!

2015 End of Year Book Survey

Hello everyone! Can you believe that it's that time of year again? Christmas will soon be here and 2015 is nearly over so before I take my blogging break until the new year I wanted to take part in Jamie's annual end of year book survey to break down my year in reading and blogging for you guys. I hope you enjoy reading about my bookish highs and lows of 2015!

Number Of Books You Read: So far I’m at 115 and have met my Goodreads goal of reading 100 books but I’m still hoping to squeeze in more over Christmas when I have lots of reading time!

Number of Re-Reads: 0 – with so many review books I don’t really have time for re-reads these days sadly.

Genre You Read The Most From: Looking at Goodreads, 2015 seems to be the year of Fantasy and Thrillers for me.

1. Best Book You Read In 2015?
So my unofficial best book of 2015 (because there’s still time for another book to come along don’t you know) is Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. Admittedly, it’s going to take something pretty special to knock it off the top spot over the remaining days of December.

2. Book You Were Excited About and Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?
It’s no secret that my most anticipated book for 2015 was A Court of Thorns and Roses but I actually ended up not finishing it for personal reasons which you can read more about here.

3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read? 
When I started listening to audiobooks this year I was looking for recommendations on what I should check out and my friend Sophie recommended The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller to me which is not something I’d ever normally pick up but I fell for it hard and it’s now become a new all-time favourite of mine.

4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)? 
I think the book that I pushed on to people the hardest this year is Am I Normal Yet? by Holly Bourne. It’s such an important book to me and I’m so happy with how many people I got to read it that fell in love with it too.

5. Best series you started in 2015? Best Sequel of 2015? Best Series Ender of 2015? 
Okay, so for best series I have two that I’ve been sitting trying to decide between and I can’t so I’m just going to say both and they are the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson and the Murder Most Unladylike series by Robin Stevens they could not be more different but are equally fantastic.

For best sequel I’m going to go with The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon which just blew me away even more than The Bone Season did.

Best series ender has to go to Winter by Marissa Meyer. Hats off to that lady for wrapping up four stories in one book and making an 800 page book totally engrossing and un-put-down-able.

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2015?
This is too hard. I’ve discovered so many amazing new-to-me authors this year whose books I will be auto-buying forever more. The shortlist would have to be Brandon Sanderson and Susan Dennard  whose writing makes my toes curl it’s so good.

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone? 
2015 was the year where I really branched out of my comfort zone and discovered some fantastic new books for it. I think for this one I’ll go with The Song of Achilles (again) because it was probably the book that was the furthest out of my comfort zone that I loved.

8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year? 
Oh, most definitely Six of Crows. Hands down.

9. Book You Read In 2015 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year? 
I’m going to go with Truthwitch by Susan Dennard because I read an ARC of this in 2015 and would love to read the finished version when it’s released next year.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2015?
It has to be Queen of Shadows. Those covers just get more and more beautiful with each book.

11. Most memorable character of 2015? 
I’ve got to say that all six characters from Six of Crows really stuck with me this year. I love how diverse they are showing that you don’t have to be able-bodied, skinny, white, straight etc to be the hero of the story and be an absolute badass.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2015?
Lorali by Laura Dockrill is the first book that comes to mind. Laura’s writing is so unique and like nothing else I’ve ever read. It is individual and beautiful.

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2015?
This was definitely Am I Normal Yet? by Holly Bourne. I had such a deep and personal connection with it that it felt like it was written especially for me.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2015 to finally read?
I’m so grateful for the Mistborn readalong this year. I’ve wanted to read the Mistborn series for years but have always been intimidated by the size of each book. I’m so happy that I signed up and finally got to read The Final Empire and the rest of the books because they’re now one of my all-time favourites and I’m desperate to read more by Brandon Sanderson.

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2015?
I’m one of those people who has a notebook full of quotes that I love from books and so it’s hard to pick just one but if I were to choose one that feels very personal to me it would be this one from All the Bright places about mental health.

“It's my experience that people are a lot more sympathetic if they can see you hurting, and for the millionth time in my life I wish for measles or smallpox or some other easily understood disease just to make it easier on me and also on them.” ― Jennifer Niven, All the Bright Places 

16.Shortest and Longest Book You Read In 2015? 
According to Goodreads my longest book was Winter at 827 pages and my shortest is Rat Queens at 128 pages. I loved both of these books so it just goes to show that size really doesn’t matter!

17. Book That Shocked You The Most? 
I’ve read so many good thrillers this year that have completely surprised me! The plot twists in How I Lost You by Jenny Blackhurst, The Secret by the Lake by Louise Douglas and The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson were particularly shocking!

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!) 
This is so hard! I have so many! Okay, I’ve whittled it down from eight to my top three that YOU CAN NOT make me choose between. In no particular order…

Simon and Blue from Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
Simon and Baz from Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
Patroclus and Achilles from The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

They are all my babies!

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year
I’m big on female friendships and so my favourite non-romantic relationship of the year has to go to Threadsisters Safiya and Iseult from Truthwitch by Susan Dennard.

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2015 From An Author You’ve Read Previously 
Six of Crows, Six of Crows, Six of Crows! If you’re a reader of this blog then you’ll know that I love the Grisha trilogy dearly and so I was totally blown away when Leigh managed to surpass that with Six of Crows. In my review I described it as “Like the hotter, maturer, dangerous older brother of the Grisha trilogy” and I still stand by that.

21. Best Book You Read In 2015 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure: 
I’m starting to sound like a broken record but The Song of Achilles which I’d never have tried if Sophie hadn’t recommended it to me.

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2015?
The first one that comes to mind is Jack from Night Owls by Jenn Bennett who I think is my latest but I have developed so many over 2015!

23. Best 2015 debut you read?
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli, I can’t wait to see what she writes next! 

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?
I think this has to go to the Mistborn series. Brandon Sanderson’s worldbuilding and magic systems are so developed that it feels like you’re really there.

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read? 
Oh my God! Definitely the first volume of Rat Queens the graphic novel. That book is HILARIOUS! I swear that the rat queens are my spirit animals.

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2015?
I’m such a crier and it doesn’t take much to start me off but the books that made me sob my heart out ugly cry this year are as follows:

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
One by Sarah Crossan
The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
After You by Jojo Moyes

Read them with a box of tissues at hand!

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?
 I think that my best hidden gem this year would have to be The Secret by the Lake by Louise Douglas which I received unsolicited for review. I knew nothing about it but was intrigued by the synopsis so I decided to give it a go and I absolutely loved it! Don’t you love when that happens?

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?
The whole Mistborn series really made me re-evaluate my levels of masochism.

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2015? 
I think that The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle brought something very unique and different to the YA table this year.

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)? 
All the Rage by Courtney Summers as the title suggests this book really does make you angry but in a good “what can we do about this?” sort of way.

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2015? 
I discovered my lovely friend Chelle’s blog early in January when I won a giveaway from her. I’m so glad that I discovered her blog because it was through winning this giveaway that we found out that we lived really close to each other. Chelle has been an amazing friend to me this year and I can’t wait to have more Chinese takeaway nights at hers in the New Year!

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2015?
There are three that I’m really proud of and they were for Six of Crows, One and Am I Normal Yet? Which are all some of my favourite books of this year. It’s true what they say that the more you love a book the harder the review is to write but at the same time, as a blogger, it really pushes you to deliver a review worthy of the book and so they end up being some of your best.

3. Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog?
I love that 2015 has been the year where I’ve hosted more discussions on the blog and I’ve really enjoyed writing them. As for best, I think that’s up to the readers but my personal favourites have to be What Kind of Book Buyer Are You? And Is it book bloggers' job to sell books?

4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?
I think that as long as I am able to go each year the answer to this question will always be YALC!

5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2015?
 A moment that has been really special for me this year is when I helped my friend Kate receive book donations for her pupils. We ended up with over 300 books and Kate hosted such a special event to gift them to her students. The event made it into local papers and it’s something that I feel so proud and happy to have been a part of this year. You can read more about the event here.

6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year? 
 I think that it was trying to balance blogging with real life responsibilities. It's hard to do both sometimes!

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?
My YALC Anxiety post. I had so many messages from people who were going who felt the same way and said that this helped them which made me so happy to feel like I’d helped people.

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love? 
It’d always be nice to get more comments on reviews. They seem to be the one style of blog post that although gets the views doesn’t get the same interaction from readers in the comments.

9. Best bookish discovery (book related sites, book stores, etc.)? 
A few months ago I discovered the Etsy store Happy Hello. I’ve since been collecting their bookmarks which I’m just obsessed with!

10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year? 
The only goal I set myself this year was to read 100 books which I surpassed. I’m not really one for setting myself reading goals or challenges. I like to try and keep reading as pressure free and fun as possible and goals just stress me out.

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2015 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2016?
I really wanted to read Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy this year but just didn’t get around to it! Luckily it’s being released in the UK in 2016 so I will be getting around to it then!

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2016 (non-debut)?
With Six of Crows being my best book of 2015 Crooked Kingdom is naturally my most anticipated book of 2016!

3. 2016 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?
I’m really looking forward to Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton all of my blogger friends who have read it have loved it so far!

4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2016? 
I can’t think of a series ending that I’m anticipating in 2016 but a sequel that I am desperate for is Throne of Glass book 5!

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2016? 
My goal is to post more reviews next year. With trying to vary my blog content and post more discussions I fell behind with my book reviews this year so I would really like to post at least one a week in 2016.

6. A 2016 Release You’ve Already Read and Recommend To Everyone 
Truthwitch by Susan Dennard! It’s out in January and I’m so excited for the rest of the world to discover it!

 That's all from me for another year! Thank you so much for all of your continued support it means the world to me and I hope you have a very happy Christmas if you celebrate it. See you all for more bookish adventures in 2016!

Review for A Boy Called Christmas by Matt Haig

A Boy Called Christmas by Matt Haig 
Publisher: Canongate
Release: 16th November 2015
Genre: Christmas, Children’s
Source: Copy received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review



Synopsis:

"You are about to read the true story of Father Christmas.
 It is a story that proves that nothing is impossible.

 A Boy Called Christmas is a tale of adventure, snow, kidnapping, elves, more snow, and a boy called Nikolas, who isn't afraid to believe in magic."

Review 
Have you ever wondered how Father Christmas became Father Christmas? I mean, how did a human come to live with Elves anyway? And how did the idea of delivering presents to children all across the world on Christmas Eve come about? Matt Haig takes us on a magical journey through the snowy landscape of Finland to find out how a boy called Christmas became the big man in the red suit that we all know and love as we discover the story behind the magic.

Nikolas lives in a small one-roomed cottage, exists on mushroom soup and has a doll carved out of a turnip for a best friend. Despite living a hard life he’s an optimistic, happy child who keeps magic alive in his heart. When Nikolas’s father goes on a quest to find a real-life Elf for the King, Nikolas is left with his horrible Aunt who takes what little joy is left in his life and crushes it. When his father doesn’t return home Nikolas sets off to find him and so begins his journey in becoming the person he was always meant to be.

What struck me about A Boy Called Christmas is how much thought and imagination Matt Haig has put into this book. Throughout a 265 page story he has created a magical new origin on how so many of the things we know and love about Christmas came to be.

Matt Haig’s writing is utterly enchanting and made me feel like a child on Christmas Eve again. What I loved about this book is that, magic aside, at the heart of this story is a message about the importance of goodness and passing that goodness on to others be it in a present or something as simple as a kind word. The moral of passing happiness on was so wonderful to read about.

In my opinion every household should have a copy of A Boy Called Christmas to read, not just for this Christmas, but for ones to come. A Boy Called Christmas has the potential to become a new Christmas classic and part of a new tradition for a new generation in the way that books such as ‘The Night Before Christmas’ and ‘The Snowman’ were for me growing up. Pick up this book and discover the next big thing in Christmas.