Reading: The Dollmaker of Krakow by R.M. Romero. This gorgeous proof landed on my doorstep recently and I instantly decided to pick it up because it has all the things I'm looking for in a cosy read: fairytale inspired, historical middle-grade. I'm loving it.

Watching: Love Island season two. I know, I KNOW. I'm so behind and a massive hypocrite. Over the summer I couldn't stop complaining about the deluge of Love Island tweets because I just wasn't interested. Now for some reason, Stu and I have been binge-watching last year's series and it's so addictive, it's terrible and great at the same time.

Planning: so many exciting weekends with family and friends over the next couple of months - I can't wait!

Making: I've been stressing out because I haven't been able to make my prints lately because my printer has been screwing around, but hopefully it's going to be fixed this week so I can get back to stocking up my shop.

Stocking up on: cardboard boxes because *drumroll* we're finally moving! After wanting to move for months we've finally found a flat we like and bonus, it's so much cheaper than the one we're in now. Now that we've got quite a bit of our own furniture, I'm really excited to move into an unfurnished flat - it's going to be a great blank canvas, and it'll finally feel like ours. But if anyone has any advice on buying a cheap but good mattress/bed then please let me know!

Wishing for: John Green's Turtles all the Way Down, which comes out next month. Hopefully I'll be getting it for my birthday!

Enjoying: indulging in my basic-ass love of everything autumn. I've got the autumn bedsheets on, the pumpkin candles out, the fluffy blankets, and I couldn't be happier.

Trying: to get to the gym at least three times a week. I feel stronger than ever but my cardiac fitness is pretty low still, I really need to up my cardio but I know I'm not the only one who HATES it and would much rather be weight training. Screw the treadmill.

Eating: beans on toast. I'm not even joking, I've been loving this basic classic for lunch lately - there's just something comforting about it!

Goal Setting: I've been trying to psych myself up to film a youtube video lately. I'm so SO uncomfortable in front of the camera and every time I've tried I've ended up cringing out and deleting it but I've wanted to start a booktube channel since 2015 so I just need to woman up and do it.

Learning: that I really can do anything I set my mind to and that life might take you to unexpected places but everything really does work itself out in the end. *sigh* I'm so freaking DEEP today, just call me Deepak Chopra, haha, at least I make myself laugh!

That's it! What've you been up to lately?

This year I've really been trying not to buy any more books as my TBR shelf is more of a bookcase, and it's kind of ridiculous. But between going on holiday (always a danger for my bank account) and constantly hanging around the book aisle of supermarkets, I ended up buying a few books in August as well as receiving a couple.


There seems to be a bit of a red theme going on, but look at those gorgeous spines won't you? I've been following Emma of Drinking by my Shelf's idea of Balancing the Books, where I total up the books I haul each month and balance them with the books I read by getting rid of some of my other books. I ended up acquiring six books in total and seeing as I only read four books in August that means I have to get rid of two books *cries* but I'm sure there's some on my TBR that I no longer fancy. So anyway, let's have a look at the books.


The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham
In the sleepy English village of Midwich, a mysterious silver object appears and all the inhabitants fall unconscious. A day later the object is gone and everyone awakens unharmed – except that all the women in the village are discovered to be pregnant.

The embarrassing thing is, I actually already own this! But the copy I already had is a tattered old one from a charity shop, with a less than stunning cover. So when I was visiting the Book Corner in Saltburn by Sea, I couldn't resist this gorgeous edition. I really enjoyed The Day of The Triffids by John Wyndham so I really want to get to this. It might be a great creepy Halloween read.

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
Dimple has plans to attend a summer camp for web developers, not knowing that her parents have planned her future arranged marriage to Rishi, a hopeless romantic with traditional values, who will also be at the camp.

When Dimple Met Rishi has had perhaps the most hype of any YA in recent years so I thought it was about time I found out why. The lovely Jessica noticed that I mentioned this book in my Mid-Year Book Tag and offered to send me her copy because she was finished with it. Isn't that just the nicest thing? So I'm super excited to get to this one, I'll probably be reading it soon, before every last vestige of summer completely disappears.



The Boy with One Name by J.R. Wallis
Twelve-year old Jones is an apprentice monster hunter in the Badlands, which exists on the edge of ordinary people lives. Ruby is outspoken, fearless and tired of her ordinary life. When the two meet and save each others lives, they have to work together to defeat a monster that not even the fiercest Badlander has yet faced.

I'm not going to lie, this was a total cover buy. I was loitering in the book section of my local supermarket and spotted this beauty and after finding out that it's a middle-grade with fairytale/supernatural elements (my weakness), I just had to have it. I'm pretty conflicted about buying books from supermarkets as I think that the author doesn't benefit well from these sales (I'm not sure on this, someone please educate me!), but I do make the occasional purchase. I've already read this one and will be reviewing it in my September wrap up, but for now I'll say that it's a nice, quick read, but nothing mind-blowing.

Christmas at Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
First published in 1940, Christmas at Cold Comfort Farm is a collection of witty short stories (including the hilariously festive title tale) from Stella Gibbons.

Christmas at Cold Comfort Farm was 50p at a village summer fair that we stumbled across over the bank holiday weekend and I just couldn't resist the vintage red spine. I love these classics from vintage, mainly because they look so good on a shelf, but I was also intrigued by Stella Gibbons' writing. I think this one will be great for dipping in and out of on my commute nearer the festive period.



Sofia Khan is Not Obliged by Ayisha Malik
Unlucky in love once again after her possible-marriage-partner-to-be proves a little too close to his parents, Sofia Khan is ready to renounce men for good. Or at least she was, until her boss persuades her to write a tell-all expose about the Muslim dating scene.

I've heard a lot of good things about Sofia Khan is Not Obliged on various blogs and booktube channels so I was excited when I saw it on the bargain shelf of an independent bookshop in Whitby (I forget the name of the shop, eek!). A lot of people have said that it's a more modern Bridget Jones, and that sounds great to me. So I'm excited to give this one a go, hopefully it'll be an uplifting, easy read.

The Loneliest Girl in the Universe* by Lauren James
Romy Silvers is the only surviving crew-member of a spaceship travelling to a new planet, on a mission to establish a second home for humanity amongst the stars. Alone in space, she is the loneliest girl in the universe until she hears about a new ship which has launched from Earth – with a single passenger on board. A boy called J. But what does Romy really know about J? And what do the mysterious messages which have started arriving from Earth really mean? Sometimes, there’s something worse than being alone . . .

I first heard about The Loneliest Girl in the Universe at the Walker Books Christmas party last year where the proof cover was revealed and we all completely fell in love with it, and it's been one of my most anticipated releases ever since. Well nine months later, it's finally here in all it's beautiful foiled glory! I've already read this one (in two sittings nonetheless) and I FREAKING LOVED IT. Seriously, it was brilliant. You need this one guys, you really do, go and buy it!

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So there we have it! The six books that I acquired in August, in all of their beautiful newness! Have you read any of these books? Which one should I read next? Let me know!

Links to books in this post are affiliate links, which just means that if you want to purchase them, I get a little something too - with no extra cost to you! If you want to buy any other books, please consider using my Wordery link - thanks lovelies!
Books marked with a * were sent to me by the publisher for review consideration, I have not been paid by the publishers to feature any of these titles.

2017 has been a strange year, I've felt kind of lost and lacking direction and this has even extended to my reading. After a strange few months where I read barely anything, August was a pretty good month for it. I read four books in total and although I'm definitely not going to meet my Goodreads Reading Challenge goal, I'm fine with that and four books is better than none!

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood | ☆☆☆☆.25
Offred is a handmaid in the republic of Gilead, a class of woman kept by Commanders and their wives purely to provide a child. 

Despite having owned this modern classic for about three years, I only picked it up this summer as part of Girl Gang Books (the official Girl Gang book club! *plug plug*) and I'm so glad I finally got to it. I was slightly concerned that all the hype around it, especially after it was recently made into a tv series, would make for a disappointment but I can safely say it lived up to it's reputation. Several times whilst reading, I got a genuine eerie feeling as I could see how the events of this book could happen in our not-too-distant future. I've seen some reviews that criticise The Handmaid's Tale for being slow and plotless but I found it compelling as a snapshot of a potential (terrifying) future. I felt on edge almost the entire time but that's no bad thing as it heightened my emotions and made me feel empathy and fear every time Offred took any small risk. I wouldn't say I enjoyed this book, as that doesn't feel right, but I definitely appreciated it's brilliance. My one tiny criticism, that I know most won't agree with, is that I almost feel like it could've been longer. I felt like I needed slightly more time in Offred's past. But this book is excellent and I can't recommend it enough.

Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo | ☆☆☆☆☆
Diana, Princess of the Amazons, longs to prove herself to her warrior sisters but risks everything when she breaks Amazon law and saves the life of a mortal, Alia. But Alia is no ordinary teenager, and in saving her, Diana might have doomed the world.

Receiving this proof was like my birthday and Christmas combined. It was definitely one of my most anticipated 2017 releases and I was beyond excited when I got my hands on it. Surprisingly enough, I haven't seen Wonder Woman at the cinema and I didn't really know much about her or her origins until I'd read this. So if you're unsure about reading Warbringer because you don't know much about the DC Universe, don't worry, because I absolutely loved this despite my lack of knowledge. Leigh Bardugo's writing is superb and the characters in this book, like all of Leigh's characters, were incredibly well developed. I'm going to be posting a full review of this soon, but safe to say I LOVED it and you definitely need to pick it up.

Like Other Girls by Claire Hennessey | ☆☆.75
Lauren is going through a lot; her boyfriend thinks she's crazy, her best friend is going through something she can't understand and she's facing every teenage girl's worst nightmare.

I have such mixed feelings about this book. When I received it I thought it was going to be about the problematic nature of the 'not like other girls' trope, and it kind of was? But it also really wasn't. I loved Like Other Girls exploration of some of the really difficult teenage issues, but I felt that others could have been dealt with better. Lauren is a complicated character, and she's not particularly likeable, but she is kind of relatable. I definitely thought some of the things that she did when I was a teenager but I think very differently now, so my lower rating might be to do with the fact that I'm just out of the age range to be able to accept some of Lauren's questionable behaviour. I would say give this one a try if you find the synopsis interesting, it's definitely worth reading but I'm not sure how much I enjoyed it.

The Good People by Hannah Kent | ☆☆☆☆
Ireland, 1825, Nora's husband has died suddenly and Nora is left to care for her grandson, who can neither speak or walk. When unnatural things start happening in the valley, rumours are spread and Nora seeks the help of local healer Nance, who believes that Micheal is a changeling, a fairy child.

I adored Hannah Kent's Burial Rites and was just as excited to pick up her latest historical fiction The Good People, so when I received it as a proof late last year I couldn't believe my luck. I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to get to it but I'm glad I did. I read this over the long weekend in a house by the sea and I'm glad I read it in such atmospheric surroundings, because it's definitely an atmospheric book. Kent's descriptions of nature are beautiful and I lingered over each one:

Her writing in general is beautiful and poetic and definitely makes up for the slight slowness of the plot. I found the plot of The Good People less compelling than Burial Rites, but only slightly, Kent writes the hell out of a historical fiction with folk tale elements. I find Irish folklore fascinating and The Good People lends an excellent insight into it and would act as a great springboard before delving into more. The Good People is definitely one to snuggle up with by a crackling fire or to take away with you on a windy autumn weekend away.

So those are the books I read in August, here's to another good month of reading (I've already finished two books!) and the start of my favourite season!

What have you been reading lately? Let me know down below, I appreciate every single comment!

Links to books in this post are affiliate links, which just means that if you want to purchase them, I get a little something too - with no extra cost to you! If you want to buy any other books, please consider using my Wordery link - thanks lovelies!