My Reading Resolutions

Happy New Year, you lovely lot of readers!

2018 was more trouble than it's worth but I suppose you can't really just press 'next episode' to miss out on its bad luck.

Like any good book when there has been a particularly rough chapter the next looks a lot more promising and that is my hope for the coming year. 

I wanted to start out my year in a fun and challenging way; along with my GoodReads Reading Challenge, I set up the 'I Train Like Emma Carstairs For A Year' because I totally love myself. 

I did something to begin this year that I've never done in the past. That is, I cleaned and tidied my room. Now I still have bucket loads of washing to do and I am away next week (Seventh of January to the eleventh) so clothes wise I'm living out of boxes and bags as my built-in wardrobes are being torn down by my parents! I've only been pestering them to do it since we moved into this house six years ago but since I’m months away from moving now seems about the right time to redo the room, typical right?

Below are some maybe artsy photos I took (Ignoring the pile of washing I need to do though);

My bedding is the Lucie Bedding from Laura Ashley, it's recently been discontinued but I only went looking for a slight embroidered white bed set - brand wasn't really on the tick list. The white bedding helps for if I want to take photos for my Instagram or the blog but it's also for aesthetic reasons too.

My desk is the IKEA MALM dressing table, not as thick as a desk as it wouldn't be beneficial for my room, but I still have enough room for my laptop and notepad. The lamp does have a shade but because the desk is so close to the wall the shade prevents the lamp from fitting on the table. 

  

Ah my prize possessions. The bookshelves are full at the moment full of books and with more to buy I'm hoping to have space for a second IKEA BILLY bookshelf within a month! The IKEA shelves were only £16 and are quite slim which is nice and were so much easier to put together than the Argos bookshelf that is on the right!

On top of the Argos bookcase is what I call my accidental vanity/side table/bedside table. I have had things such as my makeup set up there and then I bought the light up mirror from No7 and reduced my make-up a lot. Now I have my life force, my Tassimo coffee machine and then some decorative pieces on the left. Very handy for when I do Readathons!

On my window ledge I moved my mixed photo frames to form a nice show of my friends and the kids I looked after for a summer which is a reminder that I always have friends across the pond! (Marieke is in the shot on the left. I met her in 2016 and she is from a lovely little town called Allensbach in Germany!)

The last artsy photograph is a close up of my new Christmas Tree decorations from Paperchase. I bought the small Nativity figurines back in November and they all survived the trip home barre for one angel - his string doesn't exactly keep him on the branches, his halo helps that cause however...

Now, back to the Books!!!

In 2018 I set myself the task of reading 40 books within the year, what I didn't account for was that I was studying for my A-Levels and that the only books I would touch from January to June where the books I was studying for English Literature and English Language. So, my goal for 2018 was 20 books short but I think it's a forgivable excuse (that and what I explained in this blog post.)

If you follow me on GoodReads you will see that my reading challenges this year is 20 books, and I have so kindly photographed them for you so that you can read along with me this year. 

Why only 20 books in 2019?

Well, I am doing an Internship for a church, called Impact, and so far I feel challenged but I am excited to see where I am going from last year. Along with the internship I work part-time for a supermarket doing mostly late nights and lastly, I move to London to attend University in nine short months. Considering all this information I wanted to be sure that I set a reachable goal, 40 was ambitious and I didn't really consider that life could take a sharp left into dooms town. 

These are the books and their synopsis':

1) Lord of Shadows (The Dark Artifices, #2), Cassandra Clare

Would you trade your soul mate for your soul?

A Shadowhunter’s life is bound by duty. Constrained by honor. The word of a Shadowhunter is a solemn pledge, and no vow is more sacred than the vow that binds parabatai, warrior partners—sworn to fight together, die together, but never to fall in love.

Emma Carstairs has learned that the love she shares with her parabatai, Julian Blackthorn, isn’t just forbidden—it could destroy them both. She knows she should run from Julian. But how can she when the Blackthorns are threatened by enemies on all sides?

Their only hope is the Black Volume of the Dead, a spell book of terrible power. Everyone wants it. Only the Blackthorns can find it. Spurred on by a dark bargain with the Seelie Queen, Emma; her best friend, Cristina; and Mark and Julian Blackthorn journey into the Courts of Faerie, where glittering revels hide bloody danger and no promise can be trusted. Meanwhile, rising tension between Shadowhunters and Downworlders has produced the Cohort, an extremist group of Shadowhunters dedicated to registering Downworlders and “unsuitable” Nephilim. They’ll do anything in their power to expose Julian’s secrets and take the Los Angeles Institute for their own.

When Downworlders turn against the Clave, a new threat rises in the form of the Lord of Shadows—the Unseelie King, who sends his greatest warriors to slaughter those with Blackthorn blood and seize the Black Volume. As dangers close in, Julian devises a risky scheme that depends on the cooperation of an unpredictable enemy. But success may come with a price he and Emma cannot even imagine, one that will bring with it a reckoning of blood that could have repercussions for everyone and everything they hold dear.

I started the sequel to Lady Midnight back in November and due to a massive Reading Slump, I couldn't pick the book back up until December. The sequel is amazing and so densely packed full of adventure and drama that when I do get stuck back in, I'm hesitant to stop. I know that the cause of the slump may be due to not wanting to exist in the drama that was left at the end of Lady Midnight, but Lord of Shadows is a massive adventure that I am excited to complete the book and move onto...

2) Queen of Air and Darkness (The Dark Artifices, #3), Cassandra Clare

SPOILER ALERT

What if damnation is the price of true love?

Innocent blood has been spilled on the steps of the Council Hall, the sacred stronghold of the Shadowhunters. In the wake of the tragic death of Livia Blackthorn, the Clave teeters on the brink of civil war. One fragment of the Blackthorn family flees to Los Angeles, seeking to discover the source of the blight that is destroying the race of warlocks. 

Meanwhile, Julian and Emma take desperate measures to put their forbidden love aside and undertake a perilous mission to Faerie to retrieve the Black Volume of the Dead. What they find in the Courts is a secret that may tear the Shadow World asunder and open a dark path into a future they could never have imagined. Caught in a race against time, Emma and Julian must save the world of Shadowhunters before the deadly power of the parabatai curse destroys them and everyone they love.

I accidently read this synopsis before finishing Lord of Shadows, so it added further fuel to my resistance to finishing the second book. Since its release however, the hype for the finally of The Dark Artifices series is serious and how it finishes intrigues me more than having Emma and Julien remain behind rose tinted glass...

3) A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #1), Sarah J. Maas

Feyre's survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak place in the long winter months. So, when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator and killing something so precious comes at a price ...

Dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jewelled mask, is hiding far more than his piercing green eyes would suggest. Feyre's presence at the court is closely guarded, and as she begins to learn why, her feelings for him turn from hostility to passion and the faerie lands become an even more dangerous place. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever.

So, remember back in September, I mentioned meeting Andrew who at the time was writing his coursework on Sarah J. Maas and wanted to know if I felt that her novels were over-hyped or truly a work of Literary genius. Well hopefully in 2019 I will have that opinion for you! I've only pledged one book out of the series (I do own the whole series) because I haven't ever read any of Maas' work, I don't want to get myself stuck in a series I may not like.

 4) The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1), Maggie Stiefvater

“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

I saw Zoe from Read by Zoe read this series in her readathon a few months ago and I have been intrigued by the novel ever since. I own 2 books from the series and like I have with Maas, I only pledged the first books so that I have an out if I don't like it; although the shop assistant from Waterstones raved so much about the series and of Stiefvater writing I doubt I won't like it.

5-11) The Mortal Instruments, Cassandra Clare

I have bumped the entire Mortal Instruments series into one as I have read them before and blew right through the entire series. The Mortal Instruments is Clare's first instalment in the ShadowHunters Collection that do not fail to completely amerce you in the life of the Nephilim and gives the reader a glance into the life of a mundane turned Shadowhunter.

5) City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1)

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder― much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing―not even a smear of blood―to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know... 

6) City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments, #2)

Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who's becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn't ready to let her go — especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil — and also her father.

To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings — and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?

In this breathtaking sequel to City of Bones, Cassandra Clare lures her readers back into the dark grip of New York City's Downworld, where love is never safe, and power becomes the deadliest temptation.

7) City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments #3)

To save her mother's life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters - never mind that entering the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death. To make things worse, she learns that Jace does not want her there, and Simon has been thrown in prison by the Shadowhunters, who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight.

As Clary uncovers more about her family's past, she finds an ally in mysterious Shadowhunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadowhunters forever, their only chance to defeat him is to fight alongside their eternal enemies. But can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their hatred to work together? While Jace realizes exactly how much he's willing to risk for Clary, can she harness her newfound powers to help save the Glass City - whatever the cost?

Love is a mortal sin and the secrets of the past prove deadly as Clary and Jace face down Valentine in the third instalment of the New York Times bestselling series The Mortal Instruments.

8) City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments #4)

The Mortal War is over, and sixteen-year-old Clary Fray is back home in New York, excited about all the possibilities before her. She’s training to become a Shadowhunter and to use her unique power. Her mother is getting married to the love of her life. Downworlders and Shadowhunters are at peace at last. And—most importantly of all—she can finally call Jace her boyfriend.

But nothing comes without a price.

Someone is murdering Shadowhunters, provoking tensions between Downworlders and Shadowhunters that could lead to a second, bloody war. Clary’s best friend, Simon, can’t help her—his mother just found out that he’s a vampire, and now he’s homeless. When Jace begins to pull away from her without explaining why, Clary is forced to delve into the heart of a mystery whose solution reveals her worst nightmare: she herself has set in motion a terrible chain of events that could lead to her losing everything she loves. Even Jace.

9) City of Lost Souls (The Mortal Instruments, #5)

What price is too high to pay, even for love? When Jace and Clary meet again, Clary is horrified to discover that the demon Lilith’s magic has bound her beloved Jace together with her evil brother Sebastian, and that Jace has become a servant of evil. The Clave is out to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. As Alec, Magnus, Simon, and Isabelle wheedle and bargain with Seelies, demons, and the merciless Iron Sisters to try to save Jace, Clary plays a dangerous game of her own. The price of losing is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she still trust him? Or is he truly lost?

Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.

10) City of Heavenly Fire (The Mortal Instruments #6)

In this dazzling and long-awaited conclusion to the acclaimed Mortal Instruments series, Clary and her friends fight the greatest evil they have ever faced: Clary's own brother.

Sebastian Morgenstern is on the move, systematically turning Shadowhunter against Shadowhunter. Bearing the Infernal Cup, he transforms Shadowhunters into creatures out of nightmare, tearing apart families and lovers as the ranks of his Endarkened army swell.

The embattled Shadowhunters withdraw to Idris - but not even the famed demon towers of Alicante can keep Sebastian at bay. And with the Nephilim trapped in Idris, who will guard the world against demons?

When one of the greatest betrayals the Nephilim have ever known is revealed, Clary, Jace, Isabelle, Simon, and Alec must flee - even if their journey takes them deep into the demon realms, where no Shadowhunter has set foot before, and from which no human being has ever returned...

11-15) The Twilight Saga, Stephenie Meyer

Believe it or not, I have never read the Twilight Saga. I have listened to the audio books on CD (oh the Good Ole' Days) so it's only right that I have the time and money to buy the collection and read them!

11) Twilight (The Twilight Saga, #1)

About three things I was absolutely positive.

First, Edward was a vampire.

Second, there was a part of him—and I didn't know how dominant that part might be—that thirsted for my blood.

And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

In the first book of the Twilight Saga, internationally bestselling author Stephenie Meyer introduces Bella Swan and Edward Cullen, a pair of star-crossed lovers whose forbidden relationship ripens against the backdrop of small-town suspicion and a mysterious coven of vampires. This is a love story with bite.

12) New Moon (The Twilight Saga, #2)

I knew we were both in mortal danger. Still, in that instant, I felt well. Whole. I could feel my heart racing in my chest, the blood pulsing hot and fast through my veins again. My lungs filled deep with the sweet scent that came off his skin. It was like there had never been any hole in my chest. I was perfect - not healed, but as if there had never been a wound in the first place. 

For Bella Swan, there is one thing more important than life itself: Edward Cullen. But being in love with a vampire is even more dangerous than Bella could ever have imagined. Edward has already rescued Bella from the clutches of one evil vampire, but now, as their daring relationship threatens all that is near and dear to them, they realize their troubles may be just beginning...

13) Eclipse (The Twilight Saga, #3)

As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob - knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella has one more decision to make: life or death. But which is which?

14) Breaking Dawn (The Twilight Saga, #4)

To be irrevocably in love with a vampire is both fantasy and nightmare woven into a dangerously heightened reality for Bella Swan. Pulled in one direction by her intense passion for Edward Cullen, and in another by her profound connection to werewolf Jacob Black, she has endured a tumultuous year of temptation, loss, and strife to reach the ultimate turning point. Her imminent choice to either join the dark but seductive world of immortals or to pursue a fully human life has become the thread from which the fates of two tribes hangs.

Now that Bella has made her decision, a startling chain of unprecedented events is about to unfold with potentially devastating and unfathomable, consequences. Just when the frayed strands of Bella's life - first discovered in Twilight, then scattered and torn in New Moon and Eclipse - seem ready to heal and knit together, could they be destroyed... forever?

15) The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner (The Twilight Saga, #3.5)

Bree Tanner can barely remember life before she had uncannily powerful senses, superhuman reflexes, and unstoppable physical strength. Life before she had a relentless thirst for blood...life before she became a vampire.

All Bree knows is that living with her fellow newborns has few certainties and even fewer rules: watch your back, don't draw attention to yourself, and above all, make it home by sunrise or die. What she doesn't know: her time as an immortal is quickly running out.

Then Bree finds an unexpected friend in Diego, a newborn just as curious as Bree about their mysterious creator, whom they only know as her. As they come to realize that the newborns are pawns in a game larger than anything they could have imagined, Bree and Diego must choose sides and decide whom to trust. But when everything you know about vampires is based on a lie, how do you find the truth?

16) Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices, #1)

I came back into the world of Shadowhunters quite randomly. I finished the Mortal Instruments in 2014 with my friends but I didn't pick back up again until I saw Lady Midnight for sale in Tesco for £4 so I missed the in-between series out completely. Whilst I need to finish the Dark Artifices series before I move on, I need to read the Infernal Devices before The Last Hours series begins later this year.

In a time when Shadowhunters are barely winning the fight against the forces of darkness, one battle will change the course of history forever. Welcome to the Infernal Devices trilogy, a stunning and dangerous prequel to the New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments series.

The year is 1878. Tessa Gray descends into London’s dark supernatural underworld in search of her missing brother. She soon discovers that her only allies are the demon-slaying Shadowhunters—including Will and Jem, the mysterious boys she is attracted to. Soon they find themselves up against the Pandemonium Club, a secret organization of vampires, demons, warlocks, and humans. Equipped with a magical army of unstoppable clockwork creatures, the Club is out to rule the British Empire, and only Tessa and her allies can stop them...

17) The Clockwork Prince (The Infernal Devices #2), Cassandra Clare

In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street—and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa’s powers for his own dark ends.

With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister’s war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move—and that one of their own has betrayed them.

Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, but her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will—the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do?

As their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can corrupt even the purest heart.

18) The Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices, #3)

A net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute. Mortmain plans to use his Infernal Devices, an army of pitiless automatons, to destroy the Shadowhunters. He needs only one last item to complete his plan: he needs Tessa Gray.

Charlotte Branwell, head of the London Institute, is desperate to find Mortmain before he strikes. But when Mortmain abducts Tessa, the boys who lay equal claim to her heart, Jem and Will, will do anything to save her. For though Tessa and Jem are now engaged, Will is as much in love with her as ever.

As those who love Tessa rally to rescue her from Mortmain’s clutches, Tessa realizes that the only person who can save her is herself. But can a single girl, even one who can command the power of angels, face down an entire army?

Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment, and the tangled threads of love and loss intertwine as the Shadowhunters are pushed to the very brink of destruction in the breath-taking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy.

19) To All the Boys I've Loved Before, (To All the Boys I've Loved Before #1), Jenny Han

Did anybody else watch the movie Netflix brought out in 2018?! I loved it, but it went against my whole 'Don't watch a film adaptation without reading the books' philosophy. It only felt right that for my birthday I should get the trilogy, plus with the news of P.S. I Still Love You Being released later this year, I might as well catch up with myself!

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all.

20) P.S. I Still Love You (To All the Boys I've Loved Before, #2), Jenny Han

Lara Jean didn’t expect to really fall for Peter.
She and Peter were just pretending. Except suddenly they weren’t. Now Lara Jean is more confused than ever.
When another boy from her past returns to her life, Lara Jean’s feelings for him return too. Can a girl be in love with two boys at once?

In this charming and heartfelt sequel to the New York Times bestseller To All the Boys I've Loved Before, we see first love through the eyes of the unforgettable Lara Jean. Love is never easy, but maybe that’s part of what makes it so amazing.

21) Always and Forever, Lara Jean (To All the Boys I've Loved Before, #3), Jenny Han

 Lara Jean is having the best senior year.

And there’s still so much to look forward to: a class trip to New York City, prom with her boyfriend Peter, Beach Week after graduation, and her dad’s wedding to Ms. Rothschild. Then she’ll be off to college with Peter, at a school close enough for her to come home and bake chocolate chip cookies on the weekends.

Life couldn’t be more perfect!

At least, that’s what Lara Jean thinks . . . until she gets some unexpected news.

Now the girl who dreads change must rethink all her plans—but when your heart and your head are saying two different things, which one should you listen to?

So, there it is! The books I have pledged to read in 2019 even with my entire life changing before my very eyes. I honestly had so much fun taking these blog photos on my dad’s Canon PowerShot SX400. That camera is a beauty in comparison to my 'not cheap but not overly expensive' Hitatchi camera, a girl can only dream of owning such a beautiful camera. 

Are you joining in on my challenge to train like Emma Carstairs? If you are tag me in your stories or posts (Instagram: @makemeshakespeare) and use the Hashtag #ITrainLikeEmmaCarstairsForAYear and join me for the journey.

Don't forget to subscribe to the blog guys, you'll be posted when I do post instead of relying on me to post the link on Instagram!

Lots of Love,

 Jess x

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