Top 10 of 2016 - Best Book Covers

I've decided to join Two Chicks On Books again this year to count down my favourite books. Throughout the week there will be different list, so without further ado let's get started!

Best Book Covers of 2016 (MUST be a book released in 2016. Would be best if it's a book you've READ in 2016, but it's not required)

10.

To Love and to Cherish (The Wedding Belles, #3)

by Lauren Layne

9.

The Glittering Court (The Glittering Court, #1)

by Richelle Mead

8.

My Perfect Mistake (Over the Top, #1) by Kelly Siskind

7.

The Other Side of Gravity (Oxygen, #1) by Shelly Crane

6.

The Prophecy of Shadows (Elementals, #1) by Michelle Madow

5.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by J.K. Rowling

4.

Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices, #1) by Cassandra Clare

3.

Balance (Balance Series, #1) by Janelle Stalder

2.

Frostblood (Frostblood Saga, #1) by Elly Blake

1.

Glitter (Glitter Duology,  #1)by Aprilynne Pike

All stunning covers in their own right. It was so hard to put them in order of preference but in the end none of the other covers look as good as my number one pick.

What is your book cover of the year?

Book of the Month - March 2016

I've read quite a few books this month although not all of them was great books but there was a couple that hit the spot.

Here's what I read in March:

• Fate (My Blood Approves, #2) by Amanda Hocking - 3.5/5
• The Hurricane (The Hurricane, #1) by R.J. Prescott - 5/5
• The Prophecy of Shadows (Elementals, #1) by Michelle Madow - 2/5
• A Thousand Pieces of You (Firebird, #1) by Claudia Gray - 3/5
• I Wish You Were Mine (Oxford, #2) by Lauren Layne - 4/5
• My Perfect Mistake (Over the Top, #1) by Kelly Siskind - 4/5
• My Soul to Save (Soul Screamers, #2) by Rachel Vincent - 2.5/5
• The Other Side of Gravity (Oxygen, #1) by Shelly Crane - 3.5/5 

And the book of the month goes to...

The Hurricane (The Hurricane, #1) by R.J. Prescott

This was my only five star read in March but even if there was ten five star books this would still be my favourite of the month as if I gave more than five stars this book would get it as I adored every moment of this book.

What is your book of the month?

Book Review: The Prophecy of Shadows (Elementals, #1) by Michelle Madow

(Click image to take you to Goodreads)

Buy: Amazon UK | Amazon US | Book Depository

Format: Kindle

Publishers: Dreamscape Publishing

Published: 26th January 2016

Pages: 308

Genre: YA, Paranormal Romance, 

Main Characters: Nicole, Blake, 
Date Read: 8th March - 12th March 2016

Rating Given:

Synopsis:When Nicole Cassidy moves from sunny Georgia to gloomy New England, the last thing she expects is to learn that her homeroom is a cover for a secret coven of witches. Even more surprisingly ... she's apparently a witch herself. Despite doubts about her newfound abilities, Nicole is welcomed into this ancient circle of witches and is bedazzled by their powers--and, to her dismay, by Blake--the school's notorious bad-boy.
Girls who get close to Blake wind up hurt. His girlfriend Danielle will do anything to keep them away, even if she must resort to using dark magic. But the chemistry between Blake and Nicole is undeniable, and despite wanting to protect Nicole from Danielle's wrath, he finds it impossible to keep his distance.
When the Olympian Comet shoots through the sky for the first time in three thousand years, Nicole, Blake, Danielle, and two others in their homeroom are gifted with mysterious powers over the elements. But the comet has another effect--it opens the portal to the prison world that has contained the Titans for centuries. After an ancient monster escapes and attacks Nicole and Blake, it's up to them and the others to follow the clues from a cryptic prophecy so that they can save their town ... and possibly the world.

  I received a review copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I must admit it was the cover that drew me into this book as it looks stunning. I love all of the colours used as it works with the story plus it looks angelic.

I found this book very hard to get into as I felt it was a little too juvenile for my liking I even found myself rolling my eyes a few times as well. I was expecting a lot from this book as it sounds good but it just fell a bit flat. I liked how the paranormal side of the story was done as it felt different to what I have read before it's just a shame that everything else was pretty much the same as every other Paranormal Romance YA book that I've read before. For me I felt like there wasn't enough world building which surprised me as usually that kind of bores me but I just felt like it was needed here so that I knew why things where happening. If you regularly read my reviews you will know I'm a huge fan of romance in books that I read but for me the romance side of the story was unbelievable and I just couldn't see any of them together. The end was kind of good as it has made me want to know more but I think it might have been too late for me to want to go out of my way and buy the second book unless it was a freebie.

I really couldn't warm up to any of the characters as they all annoyed me there was just nothing there that I thought was redeeming qualities. Nicole just got on my nerves with the way she seemed to fall for Blake when he hadn't even said anything she just came across a bit shallow. As for Blake I just didn't like him. Danielle was the 'bad girl' of the book so yes I shouldn't like her anway but I took an even more disliking to her. Kate was the one of only character that I kind of liked as she was there for Nicole. Chris was another okay character but he wasn't really in it much.

Overall, I was expecting a lot more from this book but in the end I just couldn't warm up to the characters which is never a good thing when reading a book I feel as though you need to like the characters to even start to like a book.

Showcase Sunday #121

Showcase Sunday is a weekly Meme that I am taking part of. This weekly meme is hosted by Vicky over at Book, Biscuits and Tea.

Click images to take you to Goodreads.

Here's what I got in December...

Paperback Books Received

  

 

I received these books for Christmas and I can't wait to read them all.

Kindle Books Bought

 

Free Kindle Books

 

Review Kindle Books

  

What did you receive in December?

Book Review: Remembrance (Transcend Time, #1) by Michelle Madow

(Click image to take you to Goodreads)

Buy: Amazon UK | Amazon US | Book Depository

Format: Kindle 

Publishers: Dreamscape Publishing

Published: 27th July 2011

Pages: 314

Genre: YA, Historical/Paranormal Romance, 

Main Characters: Lizzie, Drew
Date Read: 13th May - 16th May 2015

Rating Given:

Synopsis:
Lizzie Davenport has been reincarnated from 1815, England ... but she doesn't realize it until she meets her soul mate from the past and he triggers her memories to gradually return.
When Drew Carmichael transfers into Lizzie's high school, she feels a connection to him, like she knows him. But he wants nothing to do with her. Reaching Drew is more difficult because she has a boyfriend, Jeremy, who has become full of himself after being elected co-captain of the varsity soccer team, and her flirtatious best friend Chelsea starts dating Drew soon after his arrival. So why can't she get him out of her mind?
Lizzie knows she should let go of her fascination with Drew, but fighting fate isn’t easy, and she’s determined to unravel the mysteries of the past.

I've had this sitting on my kindle for a little while now so I'm glad I was finally able to read it although it wasn't as good as what I was expecting but it was enjoyable enough.

I love this cover it was one of the reasons why I wanted to read the book (although for a change it wasn't the main reason why I wanted to read it). I love the cover even more after reading the book as it looks like it could be a part of a scene in the book which I always love when covers do that as it helps me to visualise the actual story.

When I first started this book I was excited to start it as when I knew it was based on the Taylor Swift song Love Story I knew I wanted to read it but when I started it I didn't feel enthralled like what I thought I would have. This was a insta-love book but I felt like I didn't mind that as I understood where it came from which I loved the thought of a past life romance. I felt like there wasn't enough happening in this book as it was just the will they won't they all the way through the book which did get tiring at times. For most of the book it was just an ok read but once I got closer to the end it really drew me in and I couldn't wait to see what happened next.

There was times when I liked most of the characters but everyone of them annoyed me at times whilst some of the characters I didn't like one bit. Lizzie started of like as a likable character, she was actually my favourite character in this book as she seemed like a nice person, however there was times when she really annoyed me. For most of the book I didn't really warm to Drew as he just didn't seem nice and I didn't see the attraction especially the way he treated Lizzie. It wasn't until the end when I started to like him as I understood why he was the way he was. Chelsea and Jeremy were my least favourite characters especially Chelsea as there was a glimmer of a dark side to her.

Overall this was an ok read that I started to really like towards the end and now I am looking forward to see where the story goes next.

Book of the Month - May

I honestly thought I didn't read as many books as what I had done maybe that was down to some of the books feeling as though they dragged. Here's what I read in May:

• Flukes (Flukes, #1) by Nichole Chase - 4/5
• The Happy Ever Afterlife of Rosie Potter (RIP) by Kate Winter - 4/5
• Remembrance (Transcend Time, #1) by Michelle Madow - 3.5/5
• One More Shot (Hometown Players, #1) by Victoria Denault - 5/5
• World After (Penryn and & the End of Days, #2) by Susan Ee - 3.5/5
• Redesigned (Off the Subject, #2) by Denise Grover Swank - 4/5
• A Secret to Keep by Railyn Stone - 2.5/5
• Burn For Me (Fighting Fire, #1) by Lauren Blakely - 3/5

And the book of the month is...

It was an easy pick for best book of this month as there was only one that got 5/5 which was this one. I loved every moment of this book and I can't wait to read more from this series.

What was your book of the month?

Showcase Sunday #97

Showcase Sunday is a weekly Meme that I am taking part of. This weekly meme is hosted by Vicky over at Book, Biscuits and Tea.

Click images to take you to Goodreads.

Kindle Book Bought

I had to get this on my kindle as it was on offer for only 99p so I just couldn't say no to this book.

Free Kindle Books

  

  

I have had a few of these authors other books but I still haven't read them yet but these sounded too good to refuse.

Review Kindle Books

  

  

  

Looking forward to all these new earc books but none more than The Fine Art of Pretending which was my WOW post not so long ago!

What did you receive this week?

Showcase Sunday #69

Showcase Sunday is a weekly Meme that I am taking part of. This weekly meme is hosted by Vicky over at Book, Biscuits and Tea and for more info click on the SS image which will take you straight to the blog. Click images to take you to Goodreads.

Physical Book

Unhinged by A.G. Howard for review

Kindle Books Bought

 

I received a voucher from a UK swap group on Facebook so I got these two.

Free Kindle Books

  

earcs

  

  

  

  

 

These are just a few that I received the past couple of weeks as I didn't do a Showcase last week.