May wrap up post

It's the end of May! How quickly has THAT gone? I think I did pretty well in May; got a consistent blogging schedule back, read a decent amount of books AND got a special, super-exciting piece of news (which you can see at the end of the post)

Books read in May:

A Spoonful of Jam by Michelle Magorian (re-read)

Back Home by Michelle Magorian (re-read)
Darkfever by Karen Moning (3*)
Bloodfever by Karen Moning (4*)
Faefever by Karen Moning (4*)
Dreamfever by Karen Moning (4*)
Wait for You by J.Lynn (3*)
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (4.5*)
The Runaway Queen by Cassandra Clare and Maureen Johnson (4*)
Heart-shaped Bruise by Tanya Byrne (4.5*)
Torn by Cat Clarke (3*)
Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn (3*)

Books acquired in May:

For review:

  

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainai

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

So I am insanely excited for Fangirl, TSfGaE I've started already and Shadow and Bone I ADORED (review to come soon!)

Bought:

For Kindle:

  

Books 2-5 in the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning 

(I've read them all, loved them)

The Runaway Queen by Cassandra Clare and Maureen Johnson 

(not quite as good as What Really Happened in Peru but I enjoyed it)

Wait For You by J.Lynn

(It was exactly what I wanted to read when I read it)

The Things We Did For Love by Natasha Farrant

(I haven't read this one yet but it does look good)

Borrowed:

Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

(Wasn't sure but got the others for Kindle and, as above, loved them)

Favourite book(s) in May:

 

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo and Heart-shaped Bruise by Tanya Byrne were my favourite books this month, both excellent for different reasons. 

Thoughts on the month:

I'm really pleased with the amount of books I read this month. One was a novella and I sped through the 5 books in the Fever series which really boosted my numbers, but I think I did well. In terms of books acquired this month; I got 11 and I've read 8 (and a bit) so not much of an addition to my TBR which is good and I finally read2 books I really wanted to read (and they ended up being my favourite books of the month!)

And finally....

I got a job in publishing! I'm so excited to say that from 24th June I will be the new publicity assistant for Hachette Children's Books. It is exactly what I want to be doing and I am so excited to start; I still cannot believe I got the job! I'm not sure how it will fit in with my blogging yet, that's something I'm going to have to look at. 

How did you guys do this month?

Five Friday Favourites [2]

Five Friday Favourites is a new, regular feature on The Cait Files where myself or another blogger will share their Five Favourites of a particular bookish category. Be it favourite books ever, favourite characters, favourite contemporary novels, whatever you fancy!

Today I have the lovely Lucy from Queen of Contemporary....3 guesses as to what category she chose ;)

As my blog is called Queen of Contemporary, it's a little bit obvious that I'm a lover of contemporary fiction. I've chosen to talk about my five favourite contemporary YA novels today and I'm hoping that some of you will pick up some recommendations.

Skin Deep by Laura Jarratt is one of my favourite contemporaries. It's incredibly cute and sweet, something I think that all contemporaries should include. Skin Deep is about a girl called Jenna who is in a car crash and the novel explores Jenna coming to terms with the acccident, through her point of view and Ryan's, the other protagonist. Laura Jarratt is one of my favourite UKYA authors and I'll read whatever she writes.

From What I Remember by Stacy Kramer and Valerie Thomas is a really fun and fascinating novel. Because of this novel, I've really grown to love road trip novels and the changing perspectives was a really great addition.

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins is one of the most popular contemporaries, in my opinion, and I have fallen completely in love with it. Set in Paris, it's no surprise that this is a love story. Sent away to school in Paris by her father, Anna Oliphant then meets the charming Etienne St. Clair. It's safe to say that I fell head over heels for Etienne. Maybe that's why I love this book so much...

Nobody's Girl by Sarra Manning was a really quick read for me. I spent all night reading it and then kept trying to give it to anyone that would listen to me. It's another travel book and was also partly set in Paris. Can you see a trend here..?

And finally....Undone by Cat Clarke. This book made me cry so much and it's an incredibly emotional and poignant read. It kept me captivated throughout and I couldn't put it down. This is another one of my favourite UKYA books.

Thank you, Cait!

Thanks so much Lucy! Wonderful recommendations. I absolutely adore Anna and I swear I WILL read a Cat Clarke book this year!

If you'd like to be featured on my Five Friday Favourites posts, please email me: caitlinhlomasATgmailDOTcom - I'd love to hear from you :)

Memory Lane Monday [9]

Welcome to another edition of Memory Lane Monday, a monthly feature where I showcase books from my childhood.

Today, we are going riiiiight back to before I even learnt to read with...

Can't You Sleep, Little Bear? by Martin Waddell

 

I remember this book from when I was really, really small! It's the story of a little bear who is scared of the dark, so his daddy bear gets him bigger and bigger lanterns until, eventually, he takes him outside to see the biggest lantern of all, the moon! It was such a cute book. 

My mum recently got all the books from our childhood out of the loft and it was so fun flicking through their much-loved pages. 

What books from your childhood do you have fond memories of?

Five Friday Favourites [1]

Five Friday Favourites is a new feature I'm introducing here at The Cait Files, the idea being that once a month another blogger will share their Five Favourites of a particular bookish category. Be it favourite books ever, favourite characters, favourite contemporary novels, whatever you fancy!

First up we have my blogging twin, Liz from Planet Print, sharing her top five favourite books series ever:


Harry Potter series - I think the Harry Potter series has got to be my favourite series of all time, and I'm pretty sure it always will be. I grew up reading Harry Potter and I think it probably helped shape the person I am today. Like Harry always felt at home at Hogwarts, I always feel at home when I'm reading those books, no matter where I am. And honestly, who hasn't dreamt of going to Hogwarts or having magic? Some of my most treasured items are my replica wand and Deathly Hallows bracelet :P. Harry has been a big part of my life, and I will never forget his stories.

Percy Jackson series - I was a bit older when I started the Percy Jackson series, and was a bit sceptical about it at first. About thirty pages into the first book, however, I was hooked. Percy is probably one of the most likeable characters of all time. I adored him and it was great to watch him grow up a little more in each book. He never really asked to be a hero, but he took it all in his stride and always tried his best for everyone and tried to take care of his friends. Plus, he had some really cool demigod powers - I guess being the son of Poseidon does have its perks!

The Demon's Lexicon - Two words: Nick Ryves. My number one favourite fictional boy. So far, no-one has surpassed him. You may think I'm a bit odd for liking such a character so much, and true, on the scale of morality he's probably at "morally ambiguous", but you know, he's just misunderstood! And he loves his brother, Alan, so much, so clearly he can't be all bad. As well as Nick, though, this book contains awesome suspense, the magical Goblin Market, and Mae and Jamie, who are both amazing characters.

Infernal Devices - I do not usually like love triangles. They can be done well occasionally, but usually they just give me a headache. However, this series is a perfect example of a love triangle done right. Actually, I think it's the best love triangle I've ever seen! I adore both Will and Jem (though I am Team Will, however impossible that may be) and I actually feel so bad for all of them. Their lives are messed up enough without romance troubles, but now everything is worse. Poor Tessa. How is she supposed to do anything about her situation? Love this series so much, and I am dying to read Clockwork Princess!

Divergent - It was a toss up between The Hunger Games and Divergent here. I do love THG equally to Divergent, but Mockingjay was my least favourite book of THG series and has sort of affected my views of the first and second books now. So I chose Divergent. I sort of like how Tris is a bit of a cold character and doesn't really know how to interact with others. It made her seem more believable to me, because she wasn't perfect and she struggled to be what everyone expected her to be. I also love her relationship with Four - it's not all rainbows and roses, but you can tell they do really love each other. Overall, it's just a great dystopian with a fantastic world and an interesting set of characters.

See, this is why we are bookish twins! While my list of favourite evers wouldn't look exactly like this, I love alllll these books and series so much!! 

Do any of these make your list of favourite books/series ever? 

If you'd like to be featured on my Five Friday Favourites posts, please email me: caitlinhlomasATgmailDOTcom - I'd love to hear from you :)