July Favourites: Books, Benedict and Dragons

Hello everybody! I hope you're all doing well? Did any of you go to YALC? I was so sad to miss it this year due to anxiety but there was still plenty of things that made July a great month for me that I want to share with you all today so, *puts on best Daenerys Targaryen voice* shall we begin?

Favourite Books

   

I had a really great reading month in July and read a total of nine books but my two absolute favourites happen to both be thrillers. The first is Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell, if you follow me on Instagram this will come as no surprise to you as I was raving about this book on my story. It was a solid five star read for me. If you're looking for a book that grips you from the first page and refuses to let you go then you'll devour this book just like I did. My review for Then She was Gone is already up so if you'd like to find out more you can check it out here. The second thriller I loved was The Secrets She Keeps by Michael Robotham this is such a heartbreaking thriller following the relationship between two very complex women as they bond over being pregnant in the months leading up to their babies births. The writing style was utterly gripping and like watching a car crash, I couldn't look away as I watched these two women's lives crash and collide with devastating consequences. This was my first book by Michael Robotham and I'll definitely be looking out for more of his work.

Favourite to Watch

Game of Thrones is back and so really there is only one contender for what's been my favourite thing to watch this month! We're only three episodes in but it already feels like so much has happened! I don't want to talk about plot for anyone who hasn't watched it yet and wants to so all I'll say is I am enjoying this season a LOT and can't wait to see what else unfolds now that we're closing in on the end.

Favourite Online 

So much has been going on in the bookish community this past month from Benedict Cumberbatch witnessing Non Pratt's charity head shave at YALC (I was literally howling at the tweets, pictures and videos!) to all of the readathon's that have been taking place in July. But for my favourite online I wanted to throw some love in the direction of a new book blogger who has been making the community such a sunny place with her passion for books. This person is the lovely Amy at Golden Books Girl! I've been really enjoying her blog and chatting to her on Twitter about books so if you don't follow her yet you definitely should check her out she's such a ray of sunshine and her enthusiasm for books and the book community is so lovely to see!

Favourite Thing

Picture taken from my Instagram JessHeartsBooks

This month I finally caved and bought a few of the Beauty and the Beast Funko Pops that have been on my wishlist for ages and I'm absolutely in love with them. Beauty and the Beast is my favourite Disney movie and I love being able to include these Funko's in my Bookstagram pictures. I'm planning on reorganizing my bookcases soon and I can't wait for them to be on display with my beautiful books!

Favourite Memory 

This month my favourite memory involves my nine-year-old cousin. We went for a family meal out last weekend to celebrate two birthdays. I sat next to her and we spent so much time talking about books from what we were reading to what we wanted to read next. She's always been a huge bookworm like me and it's something I've always nurtured in her by buying her books for Christmases and birthdays. This time our usual book talk was a little different though, as she was the one giving me recommendations on books to read! It's so nice that she's now old enough that we can mutually share what books we've been enjoying lately. I persuaded my Aunt to buy her the Murder Most Unladylike series and I've added Dragon's Green by Scarlett Thomas a book she's currently reading to my own wishlist. I think that now she's getting older a lot of book swapping will be going on as she raids my shelves for her next read!

What were some of your favourite things in July?

May Favourites: Feminism, Bookstagram and Conspiracy Theories

Hello everyone! It's been ages since I did a monthly favourites post mainly because I keep coming down with various illnesses since catching flu at the start of the year (it's true what they say, it really does throw your immune system out of wack) so a favourites post would mainly consist of cough sweets, sleeping and other boring sick person things that nobody wants to read about. But now summer is almost here and there has been lots of things I have been enjoying in May so let's take a look at what I've been loving this past month.

Favourite Books

   

In May I fell head over heels for two very different books. First up was Flame in the Mist by Renée Ahdieh a YA Fantasy Mulan retelling. I loved the sound of this one but was a bit hesitant to pick it up because I wasn't the biggest fan of this authors previous book The Wrath and the Dawn but I'm so glad I decided to give this book a go because I absolutely loved it! I posted a review for this one so if you'd like to find out more do check that out here.

Half way through the month I found myself in a bit of a reading slump and fancied reading something light and enjoyable. I'd been hearing good things about Paige Toon's latest The Last Piece of My Heart so when I spotted a copy going for cheap in Tesco I decided to pick it up and read it right there and then. This book completely swept me away, I was so invested in the main character Bridget and her journey. I absolutely loved the romance and even had a little cry over the ending. Like Renée Ahdieh, Paige Toon's books can be a bit hit or miss for me but this turned out to be my favourite Paige Toon novel to date! This months reading has definitely shown me that sometimes giving an author a second chance can really pay off.

Favourite to Listen to

 

Recently I've been really loving the new single from Hailee Steinfeld Most Girls. Hailee's music is so fresh carrying a really strong feminist message and Most Girls is no different. It's a song that confronts the backhanded "you're not like most girls" compliment and celebrates different kinds of girls and how they choose to express themselves. The music video for this is fab and I'd definitely recommend giving it a watch if you haven't seen it!

Favourite to Watch

As I type this only the pilot episode has aired so far in the UK but it was so good that it had to make my favourites post. So, can we just talk about The Handmaid's Tale for a second!? I have yet to read the book (more on that in a future blog post) but I'd heard enough about it to know that it's a dark, harrowing look at a near-future where women lose their rights and become walking wombs for rich and powerful men, yet nothing could prepare me for how relevant this show is to things that have and are currently happening in the world at the moment. Sitting here writing this, the scene where one of the handmaids has been raped immediately comes to mind. She's sat in the middle of the room, closed in a circle by her fellow handmaids, who are pointing at her and chanting "her fault" that scene gives me goosebumps to think about and brings to mind what goes on in our own courthouses today. I have a feeling that The Handmaid's Tale will be one of the most important, most talked about shows of the year and I already can't wait for the next episode.

Favourite Online

   

Don't you just love when you find a new favourite YouTuber and you spend a whole weekend getting caught up on their entire backlog of videos? So that's basically what I did one weekend with YouTuber Kendall Rae when I fell down a conspiracy theory rabbit hole on Youtube. Kendall produces some of the most interesting, well researched content that I have ever watched on YouTube and covers everything from conspiracy theories, to murder mysteries, to body confidence videos, to astrology. Since watching her channel I now believe in so many things that I didn't this time last month so if like me, you are fascinated by the unexplainable I would definitely recommend checking out her content - just be warned that once you start you won't be able to stop! I've shared one of my favourite videos from her to get you started. You're welcome.

 Favourite Thing

From my Instagram JessHeartsBooks

My favourite thing in May has to be Bookstagram! At the moment I love nothing more than creating pictures of the beautiful books I get in whether that's by creating a set or playing around with filters and editing. Sometimes if my mental health is bad I can find social media pretty stressful but Bookstagram is my happy place where I can step away from online conversations and get lost in a world of pretty books. I think that Bookstagram is such a fun and creative way to share what you are reading and I love scrolling through the hashtag on Instagram to become inspired and look for new ways to improve my own content. I'm getting close to 1,000 followers so I'd really appreciate if you could give me a follow over there at JessHeartsBooks if you'd like to see more bookish posts from me!

Favourite Memory

Photo credit to RayReadsaLot

Early last month Ray, Chelle, Faye and I had a Girlhood reading party where we sat around with snacks, Chinese takeaway and the new Cat Clarke book for an entire Saturday reading out loud to each other and chatting. Our reading parties are always one of my favourite things that we do together as a group and this one was particularly fun because we were all reading the same book. Girlhood is a book that heavily focuses on female friendships so it was a really great choice for a group of friends to read together. We're talking about hosting another reading party in June and I already can't wait!

What were some of your favourite things in May?

Feb Faves: Books, Beauty and Black Girl Magic

It only feels like two minutes ago since I was sat here typing up my January favourites and here I am again back with another batch of things I've been loving this past month. February is typically my least favourite month of the year but this February was actually pretty good to me and there have been lots of good things happening and things I have been enjoying so let's get started shall we?

Favourite Books

   

February was a mostly good reading month for me and I ended up reading a lot of thrillers but between them I decided to pick up The House of New Beginnings by Lucy Diamond for a bit of a lighter read and I absolutely loved it! The book follows Georgie, Charlotte and Rosa who are all living in the same house on the Brighton seafront and each of them has their own story about how they've come to live there and why they have decided to have a fresh start by the sea. I loved all three characters and enjoyed seeing a friendship blossom between them as the story continued. It's a beautiful and uplifting book about friendship, starting over, second chances and is perfect for spring time. The second book that I loved this month was The Breakdown by B.A. Paris, I was a huge fan of Behind Closed Doors when it was released last year and so The Breakdown was one of my most anticipated thrillers of 2017 and it didn't disappoint! B.A. Paris does suspense and tension so, so well and she's quickly becoming one of my favourite crime writers. I wrote a review for The Breakdown here and also interviewed B.A. Paris for the blog tour last month so do check those out if you're interested in the book.

Favourite to Listen to 

When I was growing up I absolutely loved the animated movie Anastasia so my eight-year-old self was bursting at the seams when I found out that it was being adapted into a musical on Broadway and since then I've been following all of the latest news. In February their YouTube channel uploaded this video of Christy Altomare who will be playing Anastasia singing one of my favourite songs from the movie Journey to the Past and she absolutely smashed it! I really hope that the soundtrack gets released so that I can listen to some old favourites plus the new tracks and I have my fingers crossed that it will come over to the UK at some point because I need this musical in my life.

Favourite to Watch

Hidden Figures - where do I even start with this movie!? From beginning to end I sat in the cinema teary eyed, my emotions switching from horror, to anger, to happiness and then finally to pride. As a woman, this was an incredibly empowering and emotional film to watch and so I can't even begin to imagine how it would feel to be a black woman watching this movie. Hidden Figures is pure black girl magic from beginning to end. It made me check my privilege and evaluate the ways in which we have changed, but more importantly it made me think about the ways we have not and the progress that still needs to happen. I'm completely awestruck every time I think about this film. It's essential viewing for all!

Favourite in Beauty

Last month Charlotte Tilbury released two new lipsticks for Valentine's Day and being the lipstick and Charlotte Tilbury fan that I am I knew that I had to invest in them! The first lipstick on the left is called Valentine and is a pretty light pink nude colour. It's made with the glossy K.I.S.S.I.N.G formula leaving a nice sheen on the lips. And on the right is Pillowtalk, my personal favourite of the two, which is honest to God the best nude lipstick I have ever tried! I'm more of a bold lip kinda gal but this month I have been obsessed with Pillowtalk it's the perfect every day go-to lipstick that goes with everything and the matte revolution formula means that it lasts for hours without budging even after eating and drinking. Charlotte Tilbury's lipsticks really are the best of the best and are the only thing I put on my lips these days. If you're considering giving her lipsticks a go then I'd say these are two great, wearable shades to start with that would suit any skin tone.

 Favourite Online 

I've been trying to spend less time online and on my phone in general over the past month or so but one thing that I loved online in February was this collab video featuring two of my favourite YouTubers Laci Green and Ingrid Nilsen talking all things lesbian from stereotypes to sex to coming out. It was such a great and informative video and is well worth a watch.

Favourite Thing

The best thing to happen to me this month was managing to get Ed Sheeran tour tickets! Me and my lovely friend Chelle from Tales of Yesterday tried both the presale and the general sale only to come away empty handed but I finally managed to get us tickets on Valentine's Day via Twickets Ed's official partnership website for the tour. Seeing Ed perform live has been on my bucket list since way back in his + days. He's my favourite artist and I was actually shaking whilst filling in my details I was that excited. I know so many people who struggled to get tickets and so I feel very, very lucky that we'll be going to see him in April.

Favourite Memory

Photo credit to Tales of Yesterday

Last month I went to the Falling in Love and Fandom event hosted by Waterstones Birmingham to support Chelle who chaired the event and to hear authors (left to right) Lauren James, Miranda Dickinson and Maggie Harcourt talk everything romance for Valentine's Day and to get my books signed. It was such a great event and lots of bloggers turned up so it was really good to put names to new faces and to catch up with old friends at the same time.

What were some of your favourite things in February? 

January Favourites: Life, Books, Blogs and More!

Hello everyone and welcome to my very first monthly favourites post! This is my new, more personal way of wrapping up each month that allows me to include some of my favourite things outside of books and blogging. I hope that you like the new format as much as I do! Here are the things I have been loving in January...

 Favourite Books 

 

Out of the ten books that I read in January my absolute favourites have to be Wing Jones by Katherine Webber and My Sweet Revenge by Jane Fallon. Wing Jones is a YA book set in the nineties that follows a biracial teenage girl who takes up running after her brother is in a car accident. It's a gorgeous debut about about losing your way, finding your feet, and chasing your dreams and was the perfect book to start the year off with! My Sweet Revenge follows a lady called Paula as she sets out to make her husband fall back in love with her after finding out that he's been having an affair so that when she leaves him it hurts him as much as he's hurt her. This is such an entertaining and fun read and is perfect if you like smart and sassy Women's Fiction. I reviewed both books this month so if you'd like to read more of my thoughts you can check out my review for Wing Jones here and my review for My Sweet Revenge here.

Favourite to Listen to

   

I'm a huge Ed Sheeran fan and have loved his music and followed his career since the very beginning so when he dropped two new singles at the start of the year it's safe to say that 2017 was already off to a good start for me. I love both songs so much and have been playing them on repeat ever since they came out, I think they show two totally different sides to Ed's music and demonstrate just how diverse his range of talents are as a songwriter and musician. If I had to pick one I'd say Castle on the Hill is my favourite although I absolutely love the Shape of You music video. Roll on the 3rd March, I already have my copy of Divide on pre-order!

Favourite to Watch

So last year I discovered the absolute joy that is Brooklyn 99 on Netflix and since then it's become one of my all time favourite shows. The 4th season is currently airing in the UK on Thursday nights on E4 so needless to say Thursday nights have become my new favourite. This show never fails to cheer me up when I'm feeling down or have had a bad day and it goes from strength to strength with each season. It's funny, witty and silly with a great cast of characters who at this point have honestly come to feel like friends. If you haven't watched this show yet and want to watch something guaranteed to make you laugh and feel good this is the show to watch!

Favourite in Beauty

After the indulgence of Christmas my skin has been breaking out like crazy so for my birthday I asked for a few new skincare products to help clear it up. After doing a lot of research on my favourite beauty blogs I decided to try out the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser and the three L'Oreal Paris Pure Clay Masks and I absolutely love them, they've definitely helped balance out my sensitive, combination, acne prone skin. I use the Liz Earle cleanser daily followed by a toner and moisturizer, I absolutely love the smell of this product and how using it feels like having a treatment at a spa. It's so gentle on my sensitive skin and has lots of skin loving ingredients that make my skin feel really clean and clarified after use. I use the face masks two to three times a week, each mask does something different so I apply them on the areas needed as a multimask. Once a week I use the detox mask all over, the charcoal in it is really good for drawing out impurities in the skin helping to avoid the breakouts that I am prone to. The combination of these products has left my skin looking healthier and clearer and all without drying out or irritating my sensitive skin - perfect!

Favourite Online

Being a blogger I absolutely love January, everyone always comes back to blogging after Christmas refreshed and ready for a new year and there are always so many brilliant posts and videos to watch. This month saw the return of one of my favourite book bloggers Vicki at Cosy Books, Vicki is one of the very first book bloggers I started to follow so I am thrilled that she is back. We have very similar taste in books so if you don't already I'd definitely recommend giving Vicki a follow! Over on YouTube I have been absolutely loving watching Fabulous Book Fiend's vlogs she features a good selection of Women's Fiction, YA and Non-Fiction and does lots of different types of videos. My recent favourite has to be her review of The One We Fell in Love With by Paige Toon it made me finally decide to pick it up and I ended up really enjoying it. A blogger who I always love reading is Jim from YA Yeah Yeah but I especially loved his post in January all about jealousy and not feeling good enough it's a topic I could really relate to and if you haven't read it already I'd recommend checking it out here.

Favourite Thing

I received a 2017 Happiness Planner for Christmas and I have been absolutely loving it! This isn't just your typical planner, if you couldn't guess from the title it is a planner with a focus on fitting more of what makes you happy into your life. The first section of the planner has a series of questions to help you figure out what makes you happy, what makes you sad, your goals and the obstacles in the way of you achieving them. It then helps you formulate a plan to help you get the most out of the year ahead. After using this for a month I'd say this planner is helping me live a more balanced life focused in the present. It's perfect for personal goals, work goals and to help you create a schedule that balances what you need to do and what you want to do. It's kept me so organized and the gratitude section at the bottom of each page to fill out at the end of every day has really helped me to change the way I think and to actively seek out the good things that would usually get overshadowed by the bad things. Already this planner has massively changed my life from the way I think, to taking the time to do the things that make me happy, to helping me work towards my goals every single day. I can't recommend this planner enough.

Favourite Memory

This month me and two of my best friends visited one of my favourite places in the world for my birthday, Astley Book Farm. It's the largest second hand bookshop in the Midlands and I am lucky enough to live a ten minute drive away. I'm not exaggerating when I say that you can spend a whole day there and that's exactly what we did lost in the corridors of books, eating large slices of their delicious cake and chatting on one of the squishy sofas in front of a burning log fire. It was absolute bliss. I wrote a whole post about why it's my favourite bookshop for Books are my Bag here if you haven't been yet and live close enough I'd definitely recommend a visit!

 I hope you had a great start to the New Year! 

What were some of your favourite things in January?

A New Year, A New Way of Reading

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and a great New Year. I can hardly believe that it’s the 4th already and I’m so excited to begin another year of blogging. It’s that time of year where everyone is setting their Goodreads challenges and sharing their reading goals so today I wanted to talk a little bit about how I plan to read in 2017.

For the past seven years I have taken part in some reading challenge or another whether it was vowing to read a certain number of books by the end of the year, or to read more from a specific genre, for the last seven years I have pushed myself to meet targets and deadlines and whilst that was really fun and helpful to my reading a few years ago, I have since fallen out of love with the idea of reading challenges.

Over the last half of 2016 I found myself reading very differently to how I have been. I’d started stressing out about how many books I’d read and would feel pressure from myself to be reading a certain type of book to meet a challenge I set for myself and that suddenly made reading feel like a chore.

I noticed that last year if I wasn’t reading a book quickly enough or was falling behind with my goals I’d start to feel really anxious when I was reading and instead of focusing on the story I’d be paying more attention to the number of pages read and how many chapters of the book I had left. Something I’ve always loved to do began to feel really stressful and nobody was putting that pressure on me except myself.

So in 2017 I have decided to ditch reading challenges all together. Other than trying to stay on top of review books and reading books for blog tours I am going to have a free reading year to read as much or as little as I want. Reading challenges are a great way of keeping track of your reading, pushing yourself to read more and discovering new books but for me recently they’ve done me more harm than good.

Because of this new way I’ll be reading in 2017 I will no longer be doing a monthly round up of all of the books I have read each month and where I am on my reading challenge, but I will be replacing this feature with a more personal monthly favourites post highlighting not only the books I have loved but other personal favourites in my life too be them bookish events or bloggers that I have loved following. I hope you all understand and will enjoy the new changes. I will still be sharing everything I read on Goodreads and Instagram as I read it so you can follow me there if you’d like to.

Life is too short to be feeling anxious and stressed over a hobby and I’m looking forward to trying a new, more laid-back way of reading in 2017.