This tag was created a while ago by About to Read, but I only went to see Cinderella at the cinema at the weekend and I've been thinking about it ever since, so I thought this would be a fun little extra post.

1. Evil Stepsisters: a book with characters you just hate
Gone Girl, without a doubt. In my opinion, both main characters are irritating, deplorable people and I think their characterisation is actually quite flawed and contradictory, and here's why (BEWARE SPOILERS):Amy is supposedly this genius sociopath who planned this whole thing for so long and can manipulate any situation, yet got pathetically mugged two weeks into an independent life and falls for Nick's trick and comes running back to him? I don't think so. I just had so much anger reading this book. 

2. Prince Charming: a book with a gentleman
Levi from Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell is amazing, he's just so kind, thoughtful, cute and funny. Levi and me is my OTP. Also honourable mention goes to Nikolai from the Grisha trilogy (although I haven't read the final book yet).

3. Cinderella: a character that is graceful, kind, and defiant
I think I would probably say Jane from Jane Eyre. She's such a strong independent woman, who despite everything that has happened to her and the rudeness and unkindness she encounters remains graceful and kind yet she always stands up for herself and what she believes in. She's definitely a fiesty and defiant woman.

4. Fairy Godmother: a character that always has someone looking out for them
Obviously this has to be Harry Potter. The boy who lived has always had unending help and support from those around him; Dumbledore, Sirius, Ron, Hermione, the Weasleys and even his parents. 

5. Helpful Creatures: something that makes you happy when you're sad
Kind of obvious again, but the Harry Potter series. Rereading the books makes me feel happy and comforted, and the audiobooks make me feel calm and at peace.

6. Ashes: a book you didn't care for
This is sure to be an unpopular opinion but I'd have to say Shatter Me by Tehereh Mafi. The story just didn't really grab me, Juliette annoyed me (although she did improve towards the end) and the writing just really wasn't to my taste. It was overly flowery with far too many metaphors, it sounded like when creative writing class goes wrong: eye-rolls galore. I probably will continue with the series at some point but this just wasn't really for me. Don't hate me!

7. Pumpkin: a character with a transformation
Mr Darcy from Pride and Prejudice! He went from rude and pretentious to heroic and dreamy, the ultimate transformation.

8. Impossible: a book with an ending you didn't see coming
Mockingjay, the last book in the Hunger Games trilogy, and in the worst way. It was definitely my worst series ending ever.

9. Just Breathe: something that inspires you to be courageous
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. This book really moved me and just made me think that if these women can be strong through the worst times then I can too.

10. Happily Ever After: a book with a perfect ending
For this I'd have to go for the classics; the Harry Potter series, Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre. *sighs*

This was a fun little interlude, I hope you enjoyed it!

Have you seen Cinderella yet? Did you love it?

Indevan Algara-Vayir was born the second son of a powerful prince, destined to stay at home and defend his family's castle. But when war threatens, Inda is sent to the Royal Academy where he learns the art of war and finds that danger and intrigue don't only come from outside the kingdom. [summary from Goodreads]

I read Inda this month as part of the #INDAclub readalong hosted by Sam over at Novels and Nonsense. Inda is the first book in the series and we will be reading one book each month and discussing it over on the Goodreads group and using the hashtag on social media. I am quite new to fantasy, not having read too much of it before, and although this series is quite intense I thought I'd just dive right in as I'm open to anything when it comes to reading.

At first I found Inda quite difficult to really get into because the world-building and character introductions in the first few chapters are quite intense and there's just so much to take in. Sherwood Smith kind of throws you in at the deep end and I found the best way to deal with this is to just go with it, I found that I did end up picking things up more easily as I went along. The many different characters, family names and titles were quite confusing at first but as the book went on I found the character development to be one of the strongest and most well-developed elements and by the end of the book I felt that I knew a variety of characters pretty well and was heavily invested in their development and relationships.

I would definitely say that this is a book that you should make time to sit and read for longer periods, dipping in and out doesn't really work as the world, politics, culture and characters are quite complex and can only be properly appreciated when you are immersed in the narrative. I found that I enjoyed the book so much more when I could just devote an evening to getting lost in it.

One thing I really loved about this book was the representation of women. Although patriarchy exists within the world of Inda, women are seen as strong, powerful and useful in their own way. Instead of merely being wives and property, they are warriors and defenders who are not only able to look after themselves but they protect their lands and homes with their own brand of defensive fighting and warfare. The relationships between women are strong and secretive and unlike pretty much every other book ever, the relationships do not revolve around men and discussing romance, they are far more concerned with bigger things such as politics and magic. The women in Inda are strong and clever, they are often privy to knowledge that the men don't even comprehend. I really loved the strong female characters in Inda and look forward to seeing more of this in the rest of the series.

One small issue I did have to begin with was Smith's habit of flitting around to different perspectives extremely often, sometimes within a single paragraph. This is something I'm definitely not used to when reading and for the first part of the book I found myself having to go back and figure out whose perspective I was reading. However this did improve as the book went on and as I got used to it I found it to be a very interesting technique as I enjoyed the chance to experience lots of different characters' perspectives.

The small niggles with confusing character names and narrative technique can be completely forgiven for the excellent plot and the strong characterisation. The world of Inda is just so vast and interesting and at times I found myself completely lost in the world and unable to put the book down. If you've read and enjoyed the Song of Ice and Fire series and are ready for something perhaps more intense then I would definitely recommend getting into this series.

In May we will be reading the next book in the series: The Fox. I've ordered mine and am impatiently waiting for it to arrive so I can dive back into this world. If you would like to join the readalong, feel free to do so by joining the Goodreads group here.

Have you read Inda?

Every year since I was seven, my family have been going to Norfolk for Easter weekend. We stay in our caravan on a sheep farm in North Norfolk and we pretty much visit the same places and do some of the same things each year. I've gotten to know North Norfolk pretty well by now and it's one of my favourite places in the world. I thought I'd put together a little weekender's guide to tell you about some of the best places to go.

Wells-next-the sea






We visit Wells on Good Friday to have fish and chips and visit the many cute little miscellaneous shops that line the main street. There are plenty of charity and secondhand bookshops in Wells, one of my favourites being the Old Station Bookshop, a beautiful converted old railway station packed to the rafters with both antiquarian and modern books.

French's is the only place you should be going for fish and chips, it's the absolute best in Wells, and if it's nice weather we sit on the dock and look out at the boats. There's sometimes a queue but it's definitely worth waiting for. Head to John's Rock Shop afterwards for ice cream and candyfloss, I can never resist.

Wells Beach




Wells beach is one of my favourite places in the world, I think I feel the most happy and free when I'm by the sea, there's just something about it I can't explain. The big Norfolk sky seems to stretch on forever and the golden sand is just the right colour. The beach huts at Wells are the prettiest I've ever seen and seem to stretch for miles. This year we took a travel kettle and had tea and cake on a picnic blanket, looking out to sea, it was perfect.

Holt




Holt is a lovely little town full of delis, charity shops and little boutiques. It's a great mix of high and low end. In the past we used to eat at Byford's deli, but I think recently waiting times have gone up and food quality has gone down so we've moved on to other things, but we still stop by the deli for treats and baked goods - the fudge brownie is amazing! This year we went to a gastro-pub on the main stretch called The King's Head for excellent hogies and fried chicken. I can highly recommend the brisket hogie! It's always worth popping into Bakers and Larners to look around, especially if you're a foodie, it's been running since 1730 and is a much-loved institution.

Cley next the sea



We often stop by the visitor centre at Cley marshes for tea and cake, there's a lovely view out over the marshes to the sea. Ah that big Norfolk sky again. Afterwards we usually head to the beach and let the dogs run loose.

Blakeney



We always head to Blakeney on Easter Sunday after church. The King's Arms (why are pubs always called the king's something?) serves a humongous Sunday lunch that I've never yet been able to finish. There's a book fair down in the church rooms on the front with six books for a fiver that's always worth going to, I'm not sure if it's there all the time but it always seems to be on bank holiday weekends. If you're up for some crabbing, Blakeney is a great place for it and it's a lovely way to spend a sunny afternoon. There's also a lovely long walk along the marshes.

Brancaster Beach



This beach, along with Holkham, is my second favourite beach in Norfolk. Forget Cromer, this beach is simple and often quiet, perfect for long walks and picnics in the grassy dunes. Again, the big Norfolk skies are hard to beat and many a happy bank holiday Monday has been spent here. I suggest The Hero at nearby Burnham Overy Staithe for a delicious lunch, but head there early as they tend to stop serving at 2:30pm.

An honourable mention goes to Burnham Market - a posh little village sometimes referred to as London-on-sea for it's inhabitants. It has a few little tea shops and bookshops and a Jack Wills - what kind of village has a Jack Wills?! But it's quite nice for a little potter about and The Host Arms is lovely but quite expensive.

So those are my favourite places to visit in North Norfolk! I took so many photos at Easter that I think I'll put together a photo diary of the trip sometime soon. I'm not the best photographer in the world but I'm enjoying the opportunity to work on my skills and it's a nice creative outlet, alongside this blog.

Have you ever been to Norfolk? Where's your favourite place to go?

Every year I go away with my parents to north Norfolk for Easter weekend, and every year I buy a lot of books. We visit a lot of charity shops, secondhand bookshops and every year on Easter Sunday we visit a book fair in Blakeney where the books are 6 for £5 so obviously a haul happened. I'm going to be doing a little weekend travel guide to north Norfolk very soon so watch this space for that, but for now let's have a look at the books I bought.

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
I absolutely loved the film when I was younger and me and my sister would watch it over and over, even though it was a bit scary! I didn't even realise it was a book until a couple of years ago and have been wanting it ever since. This was a charity shop find, I love checking the children's books section in charity shops because in amongst all the picture books you can usually find classics, MG or YA.

Pretties by Scott Westerfeld
I read Uglies well over a year ago and although I really enjoyed it I was on a book buying ban at the time so didn't pick up the rest of the series and I just haven't thought about it much since. I saw this in a charity shop for a pound and grabbed it straight away and I'll probably be picking this up for a bit of light relief when I've finished Inda.

Rupture by Simon Lelic
This was a bit of an impulse purchase the book fair because I didn't find much and couldn't possibly leave without at least buying something. It's an adult fiction about a school shooting, which I'm a bit unsure about because that kind of subject matter needs to be handled in just the right way, but I read a couple of pages and it looked ok so I decided to give it a go.

The Summoning by E. E. Richardson
This was another impulse purchase and a bit of a guilty pleasure buy at the book fair. It looks like a YA/new adult supernatural fantasy book, or maybe a horror, I'm not quite sure! I just picked it up because it looks like a creepy, easy read that might be a bit of fun.

Last Exit to Brooklyn by Hubert Selby Jr.
I picked this up because it looked interesting and then when I got home I realised it's actually been on my Goodreads TBR for a while so I'm glad I got it! It is a 'raw depiction of life amongst New York's junkies, hustlers, drag queens and prostitutes' (summary from Goodreads) and was banned in the UK when it was first published in 1964. It's pretty much a modern classic so I'm looking forward to getting in to it!

Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
This book is pretty hyped by everyone ever so I've been interested in reading it for a while. I have read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and though it was pretty good, but I didn't LOVE it, so I don't have huge expectations for this but I'll still give it a go.

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
This is probably my most-anticipated book of the haul, it was one of the most hyped of last year and I actually came very close to buying it in a Waterstones in December before feeling guilty about the amount of unread books on my shelf, and sadly putting it back. But I caught sight of this in pretty much perfect condition for only £2.50 so I grabbed it straight way. I'm so happy that I bought this and I'm super excited to read it. I bought both this and Everything is Illuminated in the Old Station Bookshop in Wells, which will feature in my North Norfolk guide, it's a beautiful old train station that has been converted into a maze of bookshop, piled high to the rafters with antiquarian and contemporary reads.

I hope you enjoyed this little haul and I'll be trying not to buy anything for a while now!

Have you read any of these books? What have you been buying lately?

Reasons to Stay Alive is about making the most of your time on earth. In the western world the suicide rate is highest amongst men under the age of 35. Matt Haig could have added to that statistic when, aged 24, he found himself staring at a cliff-edge about to jump off. This is the story of why he didn't, how he recovered and learned to live with anxiety and depression. It's also an upbeat, joyous and very funny exploration of how live better, love better, read better and feel more. [summary from Goodreads]

My rating: 5 stars

It's quite difficult to review this book in terms of doing justice to it's greatness and it's goodness. Before I attempt to put my thoughts into words (I am still contemplating this book long after having read it three times over), I will just say this: read this book now, whoever you are, just find a way to read it, you absolutely must.

The thing about depression is that it's just so hard to explain to someone who hasn't experienced it. Matt Haig manages to accurately describe depression and anxiety and how he personally manages these illnesses without ever sounding maudlin, trite or preachy. I now feel I can just press this book upon people and say 'here, read this, this is me, you will know me now'. Matt Haig's writing is frank and beautiful and he manages to put into words thoughts that have been following me around for years. 

"If you have depression on its own your mind sinks into a swamp and loses momentum, but with anxiety in the cocktail, the swamp is still a swamp but the swamp now has whirlpools in it." - Matt Haig, Reasons to Stay Alive.

I found myself constantly nodding along whilst reading, there were just so many truisms, so many little realities and descriptions of feelings that I recognise so well and that I would never have been able to put into words. It was just such a relief to read.

The structure of Reasons to Stay Alive is very helpful both for those attempting to understand depression, and for those in the midst of it. The book is separated into short chapters which are honest, insightful and beautifully succinct. I personally have found that when I am low and unwell I find it difficult to concentrate for long periods, so the short sections are very helpful in this respect and the book is never too heavy or overly academic.

Little notes of humour made Reasons to Stay Alive light and hopeful as well as intensely emotional. One of my favourite sections is: 'things people say to depressives that they don't say in other life-threatening situations' with an example being 'Ah Meningitis. Come on, mind over matter'. I would love to be able to hand this book to every single person who has told me to pull myself together or be grateful for everything I have. I would like them to understand that I can happy and grateful at the same time as being depressed just like, as Matt Haig says, a person can be a sober alcoholic.

As I said earlier, it is difficult to review this book when all that really needs to be said is that this book is incredibly important and EVERYONE should read it.

If you're reading this I hope you had a lovely Easter and welcome back to Top 5 Wednesday!

Top 5 Wednesday is hosted by GingerReadsLainey and you can see the complete list of wednesday-ers here. Today's topic is 'Books you wanted to start yesterday', I found this quite difficult because my TBR shelf is so massive and I have so many books I need to read but here are the five I picked out:

1.  More Than This - Patrick Ness
I'm not going to lie, I mainly bought this book because the cover is so beautiful - I mean look at it! - and it was on sale in hardcover. I first heard of Patrick Ness because the first book in the Chaos Walking trilogy was on my university reading list for Children's Literature, it was one of the few YA books we studied. I really liked the first book and have since bought the second but haven't got around to reading it yet. More Than This is a stand alone book and I've heard nothing but good things about it so I really need to get going on this one.

2. The Land of Stories 3: A Grimm Warning - Chris Colfer
I have read the first two books in this series and really really enjoyed them, Colfer isn't the strongest writer but the stories are amazing, it's just such a creative take on fairytales and I love all the characters. I got this book for my birthday last year and still haven't picked it up yet so it needs to happen soon.

3. Divergent - Veronica Roth
I think I'm the only person in the world who hasn't read Divergent, I just haven't got round to it yet. I think I was just so disappointed in the ending of The Hunger Games series that I've been reluctant to pick up another dystopian YA series. I'm waiting to watch the movies until I've read the books so I really need to get on this soon.

4. A Little Princess - Frances Hodgson Burnett
I loved the film so much when I was little, I used to watch it all the time and as soon as this Puffin in Bloom edition was released I just had to have it. I bought this in December and haven't picked it up yet, I will do soon as it's a classic I feel I'm missing out on and I think it'll be a fairly quick read.

5. The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
I was given the first five books of this series for my birthday back in 2013 and I still haven't read them! I think it was because I didn't have the time whilst at university and since then it's seemed like quite a daunting task as I feel I'll need to read them in succession which might take a while. But this year is the year that is going to happen, I'm thinking maybe in summer, so I can sit outside for whole weekends and just read them all.

So those are my top five books I've meaning to start for a really long time.

Have you read any of these books? Which books did you want to start yesterday?

The Reader Problems Tag was created by AboutToRead.

1. You have 20,000 books on your TBR, how do you decide what to read next?
I have a TBR jar with a bunch of titles I want to read soon, so I either pick something from that or I just pick something I'm in the mood for. No pressure.

2. You're half way through a book and you're just not loving it. Do you quit or are you committed?
I do usually try and stick it out for the sake of being able to say that I've read it. But if I'm really struggling I will just stop and either decide to read it at another time or just give it away. The last and only book I abandoned in the past year was The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton, it's just SO LONG! I gave it over 200 pages and still couldn't get into it so I just stopped, I may try again at some point but for now I'm not going to torture myself.

3. The end of the year is coming and you are so close but so far away from finishing your Goodreads challenge. Do you try and catch up but hope to finish or do you just let it go?
This is my first year officially doing a Goodreads challenge but I think I would desperately try and finish. I can speed-read when I need to and I think I would for the sake of completing the challenge.

4. Everyone and their mother loves this book that you really don't like. Who do you bond with over shared feelings?
Most of my reading life is pretty solitary as my friends and boyfriend don't read too much, that I know of. That's why I started this blog, to vent my feelings and hopefully become part of a community.

5. The covers of a series you love do not match. How do you cope?
I tend to buy books in a series either all at once or pretty close together and will always try and get matching editions where possible but I don't think it matters too much. My bookshelf isn't very ordered or pristine!

6. You're reading a book and you're about to start crying in public. What do you do?
Put the book away and save my feels for later when I can really just let it out. No one needs to see my ugly cry face.

7. A sequel to a book you love just came out but you don't remember anything from the first book. Will you reread the book, skip the sequel, read the synopsis on Goodreads or cry in frustration?
I will usually just read a synopsis of the first book online unless I really really loved the first book or it's been a super long time since I read it, then I might reread.

8. You don't want anyone borrowing your books. How do you politely tell them no when people ask?
Fortunately no one I know is too much of a reader (or reads similar books to me) apart from my mum, and I'd always let her borrows a book because I know she's not going anywhere with it. I dread a time when someone else wants to borrow a book *hugs bookshelves*.

9. You've picked up and put down five books in the last month. How do you get over a reading slump?
I will usually try and stick it out with whatever book I'm reading by trying to read every day and then planning a fun, short or anticipated book as my next read.

10. There are so many books coming out that you are just dying to read. How many of them will you actually buy?
I struggle with this and put it off but then will cave and do a huge book order.

11. After you have bought all the books you wanted to buy. How long will they sit on your shelf until you read them?
It depends how excited I am for the book. Sometimes they will sit on my shelf for years (I know, I'm awful) but I will read them all at some point.

If you're reading this I tag you to to do the reader problems tag!

Starting this month I will be participating in the Inda series readalong hosted by the lovely Sam over at NovelsandNonsense. We will be reading the first book Inda this month and reading one book a month, ending with the fourth book in the series, Treason's Shore, in July. There is a Goodreads group which you can join and there is lots of information about the series posted there, such as links to a glossary and character guides. We will be discussing the books both on the Goodreads group and on social media using the hashtag #INDAclub.

This is a cult fantasy series and as I haven't read it yet I thought I'd just share the blurb from Goodreads with you:
Indevan Algara-Vayir was born the second son of a powerful prince, destined to stay at home and defend his family's castle. But when war threatens, Inda is sent to the Royal Academy where he learns the art of war and finds that danger and intrigue don't only come from outside the kingdom.

I'm really excited to get into this as I'm getting more and more into fantasy and think I'm ready for some more high-fantasy books. Hopefully reading this series will get me in the mood for exploring some more fantasy authors later in the year like Patrick Rothfuss and Brandon Sanderson.

I started reading this yesterday and it is a little overwhelming to begin with, there are a lot of characters and a lot of new terms and a whole history to get into but I've decided to just go with it and keep reading and I'll probably just pick things up as I go. I'll be doing a full review of each book here and may post updates or tags along the way.

Please feel free to join in with this readalong, the more the merrier!

Have you read Inda?