Top 5 Wednesday - Auto-Buy Authors

Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly meme where you discuss your 'top 5' in a variety of different topics on, guess what, a Wednesday. Full list of topics and more information can be found here on the Goodreads group.

Sam, who hosts Top 5 Wednesday, is on hiatus for the summer so for the next few months any top 5 Wednesday posts I do will be based on previously archived topics. This week I have decided to talk to you about my top 5 auto-buy authors. 

Rick Riorden

I love Rick Riorden, he is my favourite author alongside J.K. Rowling. I own nearly all of his books and I will continue to buy anything he writes! 

Marissa Meyer

I really loved The Lunar Chronicles but my favourite book from Marissa is definitely Heartless. I still need to read the Renegades series very soon. 

Holly Black

There's still a lot of books by Holly Black that I need to read but everything I've read so far I've loved. My favourites are definitely The Cruel Prince and The Wicked King. I can't wait for The Queen of Nothing. 

Jay Kristoff

Jay Kristoff is a fairly new author to me and so far I've only read the Illuminae series and Nevernight but I gave them all 5 stars! I really need to continue with the Nevernight series. 

Dan Brown

Dan Brown holds a special place in my heart because The Da Vinci Code was the first book I read that made me discover my love for this genre. I have since read all of his books, including his most recent, and I will continue to do so. 

I probably have a lot more authors in my repertoire that I could class as auto-buy authors but these are definitely 5 of my top ones. 

Which authors will you always buy books from? I'd love to hear about them. 

Top 5 Wednesday - Books Featuring Mental Health

Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly meme where you discuss your 'top 5' in a variety of different topics on, guess what, a Wednesday. Full list of topics and more information can be found here on the Goodreads group.

This weeks topic is books featuring mental health in honour of May being Mental Health Awareness Month. This was quite a hard topic for me as most books featuring mental health fall into the contemporary genre and this is not really a genre I read. That being said after a bit of a think I came up with 5, all of which are on my TBR. 

The Astonishing Colour of After by Emily X R Pan

I've heard nothing but great things about this book. Everyone seems to love it. Mental health rep - MC working through grief

Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow

This one has been on my TBR for ages, I really need to get to it soon. 

Mental health rep - MC dealing with self harm

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

Another one that's been on my TBR for far too long. I've heard mixed things about this one but I'm still intrigued by the premise. 

Mental health rep - OCD

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

I really enjoyed the Shadow and Bone trilogy when I read it and I've been meaning to carry on in this universe for a while. I've heard the rep in this one is really good too. 

Mental health rep - PTSD

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

This is a more recent addition to my TBR. I've never really been drawn to read John Green before as I don't like contemporary romance but the mystery element in premise of this one intrigues me.

Mental health rep - OCD (which I think might be Own Voices)

Obviously as I haven't read any of these I can't say how good the rep is in them, if you know please let me know, but I hope to get to them soon. 

If you have any great recommendations for books with good mental health rep please let me know. I'd love to add them to my ever growing TBR!

Top 5 Wednesday - Emerald Covers

Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly meme where you discuss your 'top 5' in a variety of different topics on, guess what, a Wednesday. Full list of topics and more information can be found here on the Goodreads group.

This weeks topic is emerald covers in celebration of May's birthstone, the emerald. I struggled with this one a little bit, I can't think of many books I've read or want to read with emerald covers so I may have cheated a little and some of these covers are just green. 

This was the first book that came to mind when I saw this weeks topic. I don't think the photo does this cover justice, it really is beautiful and emerald. I've heard mixed things about this one but the premise really intrigues me so I do want to pick it up. 

Another one on my TBR that I would like to read very soon. This one I have heard great things about though. 

This is another TBR pick. I don't usually like covers with people on them but for some reason all of A.G. Howard's covers really appeal to me. 

The UK cover of this book, which I've pictured, is actually really shiny in real life and does remind me a little bit of emeralds. I love all of Rick Riorden's books and this one is the 2nd in the Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief series. 

Okay so this one may be more green than emerald but hey ho. I actually only gave this book 3.5* but the series overall is fantastic. The books get so much better as you go. If you've read this one and feel a bit meh about it I would recommend continuing. 

So there are my 5 picks for emerald *cough* covers. Have you read any of these books? 

Are their any books with emerald covers that you would recommend?

Top 5 Wednesday - SFF BFFs

Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly meme where you discuss your 'top 5' in a variety of different topics on, guess what, a Wednesday. Full list of topics and more information can be found here on the Goodreads group.

This weeks topic is your top 5 SFF BFFs, so your favourite friendships in science fiction and fantasy or characters you would want to be friends with. 

Hermione Granger 

So lets start with an obvious one. The whole of the Harry Potter series is full of wonderful characters, wonderful friendships and characters that I think would make the best BFFs. I've chosen Hermione as I think she's a great character. She's smart, loyal and loves to read, what more could you ask for. 

Annabeth Chase

This is another series that has a lot of great characters in it. This was a tough choice between Annabeth and Grover but in the end I went for Annabeth because she will be able to get you out of some sticky situations. 

Mia Covere

She's the worlds most deadliest assassin, why wouldn't you want her for a friend! She will have your back if needed but do not cross her, you may not live to tell the tale. 

Kady, Ezra, Hannah and Nik

These friends are the best. I loved reading about them throughout the series and when they finally all got together in Obsidio they fought for each other and fought hard!

Cinder, Scarlet, Cress and Winter

Another great rag tag group of friends fighting together to save the universe. 

So that's my top 5 favourite SFF BFFs. As you can see I love female characters and groups of friends working together, that's my jam!

I'd love to hear which characters you would like as a BFF. 

Top 5 Wednesday - Rainy Day Reads

Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly meme where you discuss your 'top 5' in a variety of different topics on, guess what, a Wednesday. Full list of topics and more information can be found here on the Goodreads group.

This weeks topic is your top 5 rainy day reads. I don't really read based on the season or weather, I'm much more of a mood reader. However, I do associate cold and rainy weather with fantasy books so, for this post I'm going to be recommending you my top 5 favourite most recent fantasy reads. 

Music and Malice in Hurricane Town by Alex Bell

This is my most recent 5 star read. I loved this book, I found it so compelling, I couldn't put it down. It's more supernatural than full on fantasy to be honest but there's magic so it counts. 

Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

Another 5 star read for me. I loved how complex the world was and the characters were so bad ass. I'm super excited to continue with this series. 

Once & Future by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy

This was a 4 star read. Probably more sci-fi than fantasy but it's a retelling of King Arthur so I'm including it here. I enjoyed this one. I particularly loved the characters, how they interacted with each other and the diversity was fantastic. 

The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons

Another 4 star read and my first ever adult fantasy read. It's safe to say I'll be reading more of this genre. Another very complex story with a unique writing style which I enjoyed. 

The Wicked King by Holly Black

This was my first 5 star read of the year. Holly Black is one of my favourite authors and this has quickly become one of my favourite series. I love everything about it and that ending! I can't wait for the final book. 

So these are my top 5 fantasy books for this year so far and fantasy is the genre I relate with rainy days. I have reviewed all of these books on my blog so if your interesting in any of them you can check out my full thoughts. 

What books do you associate with rainy days? I love to know. 

Top 5 Wednesday - Favourite SFF Booktubers

Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly meme where you discuss your 'top 5' in a variety of different topics on, guess what, a Wednesday. Full list of topics and more information can be found here on the Goodreads group.

This weeks topic is a crossover topic from the Booktube SFF Awards and we will be discussing our favourite SFF Booktubers. Bookbloggers and IG's are allowed too but they have to focus mainly on SFF books. 

I love watching Booktube, and SFF is my favourite genre so I have a lot of Booktubers who read this genre in my subscription list, Since I've been blogging and using Twitter I have also discovered some great SFF bloggers so I'm going to be sharing some of my favourites with you here. I will try and link to any blogs or Booktube channels that I mention. 

Sam from Thoughts on Tomes

Booktube Channel 

Thoughts on Tomes was one of the first SFF Bookstubers I started watching and I still really enjoy her videos. She has a really concise but detailed way of discussing books which I really like. Shes also the founder of the Top 5 Wednesday meme so that's great too. 

Becca from Becca and the Books

Booktube Channel

I've only recently discovered Becca's channel and I really enjoy listening to her discuss the books she reads, I especially like her vlogs. I also like that she reads a lot of back list stuff and not just the popular new releases. I also love her Bookopoly TBR videos, they're very unique. 

Justine from I Should Read That

Booktube Channel

Blog

Justine is another new Booktuber that I've discovered recently. Again I like how detailed her videos are and I often find my TBR pile grows after watching her videos. 

Holly from Holly Hearts Books

Booktube Channel

Holly mainly reads adult SFF and this is something that I'm getting into more and more so I love getting some recommendations. She also has a great sense of humour that comes across in her videos. 

TBR and Beyond

Blog

I discovered this blog via the blogger support Facebook group that I'm part off and I really enjoy reading their posts. They also have a fantastic Facebook group that I'm part of and they hold lots of fun read-a-longs, author interviews and reading challenges. 

So these are my top 5 SFF Booktubers and Bloggers at the moment. 

I'd love to hear if you have any recommendations of great Booktubers and Bloggers that read a lot of SFF as I'm always looking for more. 

Top 5 Wednesday - Collectables on my Bookshelf

Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly meme where you discuss your 'top 5' in a variety of different topics on, guess what, a Wednesday. Full list of topics and more information can be found here on the Goodreads group.

This week I will be looking at my top 5 favourite collectables on my bookshelves. This is actually last weeks topic as I don't really like this weeks but that's okay!

Funko Pops

I've only recently started collecting Funko Pops and I love them. The majority of mine are from Harry Potter but I do have a Baby Jack Jack from The Incredibles as that's by sons nickname and I have a couple from Fantastic Beasts. 

Candles

I love candles. I have a couple bookish ones on my shelf as well as a Harry Potter set and just some generic candles. 

Bookmarks

I have a few bookmarks, although I tend to just use the same one. I keep them all in this jar on my shelf so they're handy if and when I need one. 

Photographs

I know this isn't bookish but my bookshelves are one place where I keep some of my favourite photos. 

Soft Toys

Again, not really bookish but I have some soft toys that I was gifted or that I got on a holiday and I tend to keep these on my shelves. 

So these are my top 5 collectables on my bookshelves. 

Do you keep collectables or trinkets on your shelves or do you refer to keep them clear? I'd love to know. 

Top 5 Wednesday - Spring Reads

Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly meme where you discuss your 'top 5' in a variety of different topics on, guess what, a Wednesday. Full list of topics and more information can be found here on the Goodreads group.

This weeks Top 5 Wednesday post is your top 5 spring reads. This can be interpreted as books or genres you reach for in Spring, Spring themed recommendations or just 5 books you want to get to this Spring. I'm going with 5 books I'm planning on reading as I tend not to read seasonally. 

Here are the books I'm hoping to get to this Spring. 

Caraval and Legendary by Stephanie Garber

   

Caraval will be a re-read for me and Legendary a first read. I really want to get to both of these before Finale comes out in May. 

The Priory of the Orange Tree

As you may of seen in my recent Mailbox Monday post I received this one in a book trade. I really want to pick it up ASAP otherwise I know I'll keep putting it off because of the size. 

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

I'd really like to start my re-read of this series so I can then move onto the Six of Crows duology and then finally pick up King of Scars. 

Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff

I'm currently reading and absolutely loving Nevernight so I'm definitely going to want to continue with this series. 

The Dark Vault by V.E. Schwab

I've just finished The Near Witch which is the first book I've read by this author even though I own a lot of her books. I'd like to continue working my way though her backlist and try this one next. 

Have you read any of these? I'd love to hear what you thought and if there are any I need to get to ASAP. 

What books are you hoping to read this Spring?