 Hey guys, it's Tilly and today I'm actually here with a wrap-up video. It wasn't until I was going to my videos on my channel that I realized I haven't done a wrap-up video since December. Maybe that's because I've been in a reading slump on and off for the last five months and even before that. Or perhaps it's the fact that I've just been really terrible at doing videos and all my book life. You decide. So I thought that today I'll be really quick and do a quick wrap-up video. Talk about some of my favorite books that I have read so far this year. There are 16 of them in total. I do not have all of them present with me but I can still talk about them because I do remember the stories. So let's jump straight into it. First of all we have The Blue Moon Narthex by NJ Donut. This is a middle grade book and it is a real fun fantasy read. And if you guys are younger I would very encourage you guys to read this book. You have characters that are very likable and a storyline that is not only entertaining and page turning. But it will keep you interested as well. Can say that there was some part of this book that was confusing and there are a lot of words and names thrown at you that you guys will kind of need to try to get a grasp of. But the world building in it is quite amazing and you feel like you really are part of the story. And I think that's really important when it comes to reading. I did do an unboxing and a review of that book which I will leave links to below. That includes a Goodreads review too if you guys just want to read about all my thoughts. The next one that I had is The Star Touch Queen by Roshani Chokshi. And you guys might be a little upset because I didn't really enjoy this book. I've read this book around the time that I read The Wrath in the Dawn and Rebel the Sands. And I was kind of very much into that style of book and when it got to this one I just couldn't get into the story very much and I really wish I could because I hear so many amazing things about it. And maybe I will need to give it another go, but just I just didn't feel it unfortunately. Next up I had a historical fiction that I really really enjoyed a lot more than I thought I would enjoy. And I just looked to the sea by Ruta Sepidis. So this book is set in 1945 so it was during the wartime period. And it follows four different teenagers as they all on this one path to pretty much survive this war. And I just remember like some parts of this book were so honestly brutal and heartbreaking to read. Ruta Sepidis has this talent when it comes to historical fiction. Where she can make you feel the destruction and the desperation in those times. And reading these books it is real eye-opening and you can just kind of get that insight into what it could have been like during that time. And as one of those people in this situation. Next up we have the second book in the Rebel the Sands series and it is Trade to the Throne by Alwyn Hamilton. These covers are not only stunning where they're like gold sparkly look to them. But they're also really action packed and fun to read with characters that you like as well. So this first book is about a girl called Armani who basically wants to escape this little town she was born in. Where people don't get treated very nicely and it's just a real crappy place to be living. And one of this foreigner comes in and he's basically her chance to get out of here. So she pretty much piggybacks a ride with him and gets out of that town. But of course it also brings a whole lot of trouble and they have to stay together to try and survive. This next one is a small collection of poetry. It is called Without Mercy by Bethany Helen Lake. And I really did enjoy this book. There are quite a few amazing poems in there that really made you feel something. Then we have Sanctuary's Fan by A Lynch. This book was really good. It was a quick short and fun read. And although the very beginning of this story it was so typical and high schooly that when I was reading it I was like how am I going to get through this book. But it quickly changes and things don't always seem like how you would expect. And it was really a pleasant ending to this book. And I just really think more people should read it. This book is about a young girl called Raelle and her life is normal for her. Which means that normalcy is going to school at a human school, having a friend that is like a ghost. And her adopted parents are sucky by it. And she thinks she's all good and normal. She's talking to the boy that she's a crush on until she realizes that she is a vampire. So now she must not only execute her new life but she must also try to survive high school. So this next book was a really good mystery read and the writing style in it is absolutely fantastic. I haven't seen much more about it but I'm telling you guys now you need to pick this book up and enjoy it if you guys like that kind of new adult adult mystery genre. And that one is If We Were Villains by M.L.Rio. So in this book you have Oliver Meeks who has just served 10 years in jail for a murder he may or may not have committed. So this book jumps back between the future and the past as it reveals the story of what actually happened that night and who was murdered and how they were murdered and who actually did it. So next up we have Night Swimming by Steph Bow and I absolutely love the cover of this book. So in this you have three friends you've got Clancy and Kirby. Clancy is basically the boy in the story and Kirby is the female in the story. They've been best friends their entire lives and things just normal and great with them. And then you have a nigger called Iris who strolls into town and both of them end up falling in love with her. So not only is this a love story but it's also like a coming of age story and these two kids trying to figure out what they're gonna do for their future and who is going to be in their future. Next up was a real highly anticipated read that if you guys watched my last video I would know that I was not a huge fan of and that one is A Quarterwings and Ruin by Sarah J Maas. This is the third book in the Quarterthorn and Rosa series and it just really really fell flat for me. If you guys haven't heard of the Quarterthorn and Rosa series before it is a high fantasy that is written by Sarah J Maas and most people tend to love her books because she has a real good writing style when it comes to these and characters that are you know your typical lovable characters so you're bound to enjoy it. But this one it just... words can't even describe what I'm feeling about this book. I can use my words to describe how much I loved A Ballad for a Mad Girl by Vicky Wakefield. Vicky Wakefield is basically a goddess and an inspiration. Her writing to me is just absolutely amazing and flawless and I love everything about it. So I knew I was going to like this book no matter what but I really did not expect to become my new favorite book of hers. I'm gonna read the bevel-blabla-blabla-blabla-blabla-blabla story because I literally just spent the last 20 minutes trying to put the story into a short word sentence but I cannot form it so let me just read it off the back. Everyone knows 17 year old Grace Foley is a bit mad. She's not afraid of anything except losing. As part of the feud between two local schools in Swanston, Grace accepts a dangerous challenge. That night she experiences something she can't explain. The Funny Girl isn't laughing anymore as she's drawn deeper into the 20 year old mystery of Missing Girl Hannah Holt. She can no longer tell what's real or imagined. Is she moving closer to the truth or is she at risk of losing everyone including herself? And the best part about this is that there isn't romance in this book. Like there was side character romance but it's never the main plot of the story and I really really enjoyed that about it. So if you guys are gonna read any books that I have said at all during this I really encourage you guys to pick up this one. And for the last book that I physically have here that is released by Patrick Ness. I enjoyed this book. I think I gave it four stars, well three or four stars. It was really good. Patrick Ness is an autobiography for me so I bought this book without even knowing it was about. I must say though that this book alternates between two different characters per se and one of the characters point of view in this I thought was absolutely pointless. I'm not entirely sure if it's just because I didn't understand why that point of view was in the book or not but I just didn't enjoy it as much. So in the two of the main characters called Adam and basically his entire life is changing. He has old relationships that he needs to face and new ones that he needs to kind of figure out what he's doing with them plus school is ending and life is moving on and he's really struggling to come to terms with that. So it follows him on a day that he makes a lot of big decisions. Now for books that I don't actually physically have here that will pop up in this corner. So when I was on holiday I finally read The Foxhole Court by Nora Sikavik. I don't actually have the book here so I don't even know if that's how you pronounce her last name correctly. I do recall really really enjoying these books. The basic plot line of this is that you have this sport. I can't actually remember the name of the sport is but it's a made-up sport. That's like a cross between like hockey and rugby and like all those other really rough sports and at the school you get a boy called Neil who gets recruited to play in this sport and he basically meets all his new players and teammates and you follow them as they continue to play this sport and become friends. That's a really really bad way to describe it but it is a very heavy, dark and emotional book. It deals with a lot of issues and it was so much more than I expected it would be but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. Second last book that I have read is One Day by David Nichols. I got this book from my friend and I really did enjoy reading this book. It was a lot better than I expected it would be. I hadn't watched the movie yet so maybe that was a good thing but I read this book and I just remember crying at certain points and like I didn't expect that ending. It just wasn't very fair like I kind of got it from the beginning what would happen but I didn't pick it you know I didn't see it coming. It is a real romance book between two friends and their stories as they intertwine over the years and it was just really really good. And for the last book that I have read this year it is The Tender Wings of Desire. Now the funny thing about this book is that it was a novella released by KFC for Mother's Day to just promote whatever the hell they're promoting, chicken I guess. And I was at work and I thought hey I've got time why don't I just read this book and see how it is. I was basically expecting the biggest shit post in a book that has puns and just disappointing chicken lines all throughout it but it was actually a half decent real cringey romance novel and I didn't sit well with that so I went and wrote a review which actually turned into me rewriting the entire story which I'll leave a link to below but let me just say that it is quite embarrassing and a little raunchy but hey it's finger-licking good. So there you guys have the books that I have read so far in 2017 and hopefully I'll be reading a lot more but I'm me I don't know what my brain's doing it's like one day I want to read a book and the next day I don't want to do anything at all but we can all win so I'm going to leave this video here you guys can let me know if you have read these books what your thoughts are or if you're going to be picking up any of these books most specifically Ballad for a Mad Girl by Vicky Wakefield. I hope that you guys have enjoyed this video and I shall see you guys again soon and yeah have a lovely bookish day and bye.