Career of Evil is by far my favourite book in the series. Yet again, Robert Galbraith treats us to a suspense-filled, twisted, fast-paced and thrilling ride.

From start to beginning, Career of Evil had me sat on the edge of my seat. This book definitely felt the most scary of the series so far. I loved the glimpses into the life of the killer and I loved that I had no idea who the killer was until they were revealed. Once again, I loved the dynamics of the relationship between Strike and Robin, they are currently my favourite crime fighting duo. I can't wait for more from them in the next instalment!

Dear Charlie is the heart-wrenching story of Sam Macmillan and his parents as they try to continue their lives in the wake of a tragedy committed by Sam's brother Charlie.

How did Sam's loving brother Charlie commit such a devastating act? Why did Charlie take the lives of so many innocent people at Pembrook Academy? What drove Charlie to do this and then take his own life? These are all questions that plague Sam like a disease. Sam is left to deal with the consequences of his brother's final actions: he has no friends, his father is drinking, his mother cannot let go, he has to start in a new school, the hate mail, the graffiti, the media hunt. Dear Charlie explores the consequences of being a family member to someone who commits an unforgivable crime, in this case, a school shooting and mass murder.

This book is not entertaining. It is not fun. It is certainly not an easy read. It is, however, an emotionally charged read that explores human nature in many forms. As Sam struggles to move on, we see him come to terms with his own feelings: upset, anger, loneliness and finally hope. Hope that at some point his life can return to normal and he will no longer be looked upon as 'Charlie's brother'.

This book reminds us that in the aftermath of such tragedies, it is not only the victims families who hurt. We so often overlook the family of the killer that we forget how much this act has changed their lives forever. This book dealt with that so well. It showed the significant difficulties that Sam and his family faced and I really felt that they were very realistic.

This is a beautifully written, emotionally driven and heart-wrenching read. I would highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

I think it goes without saying that this is a fantastic book. Unusually for me, I saw this movie several years before reading the book and as such, ruined the experience of reading this for myself. Anyone who has either read the book or seen the movie will know that this book contains an INCREDIBLE twist. One that you do not see coming but that literally takes your breath away. The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars is because I knew what was coming, but like I said, that was completely my own fault. I listened to this as an audio book and the narrator was fantastic. The tension is built in all the right places, to the point where I was certainly terrified at times. A really great read but I completely urge people to read the book before seeing the movie. Excellent!

3.5 stars

This was the perfect book to read in the run up to Christmas. It was so suited to being curled up on the sofa with fairy lights on and a hot chocolate. I highly recommend this if you're looking for something to help you feel festive this time of year.

Although this was very heavy on the instalove (I know, that's the idea of a fluffy holiday romance), it was also completely adorable and I really loved both Sierra and Caleb. I loved that Sierra's family owned a Christmas tree lot and I loved what Caleb did with all the trees he bought. I would have liked to learn more about Caleb's secret as I thought that what he had done was way too significant to be brushed over so quickly by Sierra, but then this is supposed to be a romantic holiday read, so I understand why it wasn't explored further. The writing style was simple and the short chapters made for a super quick read. The characters were all well thought out and likeable and I enjoyed the parts showing the relationship between Sierra and her parents.

What I can say is that this book left me feeling a little emotional, very sentimental and feeling particularly festive. I think this is a book I would only enjoy at Christmas time but one that I know I will return to again next year.

Wow.

This book was everything I had heard it would be and more. A Monster Calls had been on my tbr for too long and knowing that the film was releasing in the new year, I decided it was time I settled down and read it. Little did I expect to find myself riding a long roller coaster of emotional turmoil.

This is Conor's story. Conor is a young boy who is haunted by a monster, a monster we later come to realise symbolises mental health issues and the deep, emotional turmoil he is feeling. This is the story of how Conor learns to conquer his own fears and feelings and come to peace with his mother's illness and his inevitably rocky future.

This is genuinely one of the most beautiful books I have ever had the honour to read. I loved that the lines between life and fiction were blurred, leaving it up to us as readers to decide what we believed in. I lived for the symbolism in this story. I think at times we all wish we had a monster we could communicate with and learn how to conquer. I know I certainly would call my monster to me if I could. So much is left unsaid in this book and I think that is very poignant and reflective of the situation in the book. By the end of this book I truly felt empty. Emotionally there was nothing left of me.

I really do not have the words to summarise this book or even to review it in the nature that it truly deserves. What I would like to say is thank you to Patrick Ness for writing the story that Siobhan Dowd wanted to tell but was unable to. Thank you for writing a book that will resonate with millions for years, and not just children either. This is one of the most important books I have ever read and I truly urge everyone to read it. Truly heartbreaking and beautiful.

Overall rating: 3.25

This is a lovely collection of short stories featuring a host of well known YA authors such as Stephanie Perkins, Laini Taylor, David Levithan and Rainbow Rowell.

Whilst I totally adored some of the stories, there were a few that just weren't quite my cup of tea. I've broken down this review into a little summary of my thoughts on each with an individual rating.

Midnights by Rainbow Rowell - This was a super cute start to the anthology. Just the right amount of fluff and cuteness to remind me why I like Rainbow's writing so much. So adorable and it just seemed right. 4.5/5 stars

The Lady and the Fox by Kelly Link - Well this just wasn't for me. I didn't really understand what was going on and it certainly didn't capture me like the first story did. Peculiar. 1.5/5 stars

Angels in the Snow by Matt de la Peña - This was a cute (although super instalove) story and I liked both of the characters. I actually cared about them and wanted them to be happy. 4/5 stars

Polaris Is Where You'll Find Me by Jenny Han - I truly enjoyed this very Christmassy story. I thought it was touching yet simple and I immediately felt a connection to the characters. I liked the fantasy element and overall thought it was cute. 3/5 stars

It's A Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown by Stephanie Perkins - I LOVED this story. Marigold and North are so precious and I loved how realistic their interactions were. I would love nothing more than a novel about these two! Cute, touching and beautifully written. 5/5 stars

Your Temporary Santa by David Levithan - I always enjoy David Levithan's writing style but this story didn't quite deliver for me. It started out as a great idea but didn't really develop in the way I was hoping. 2/5 stars

Krampuslauf by Holly Black - Okay so this was kind of weird and I'm not entirely sure if I liked it. I thought the characters were okay but just thought the whole concept of the story was a bit too wild for my liking. It wasn't the cosy Christmas feel I was looking for. 1.5/5 stars

What the Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth? by Gayle Forman - Okay so I really enjoyed this story. I loved how things developed with Sophie and Russell and I enjoyed the humour too. This was also fabulously diverse with a Jewish girl and a biracial coupling. Heartwarming, fluffy and romantic - a fab addition to this anthology. 5/5 stars

Beer Buckets and Baby Jesus by Myra McEntire - This was a bit of an up and down story for me. I felt that I didn't care much for the characters towards the beginning but by the end I realised I was rooting quite hard for them. It was nice to see religion playing a key role but it felt to me like there was a bit of a spark missing. 3/5 stars

Welcome to Christmas, CA by Kiersten White - In such a short amount of pages Kiersten White has managed to create a whole community of characters that I immediately cared for. To be totally honest I didn't think the romance at the end was necessary as this was such a heartwarming and lovely story already. I especially liked the family dynamics in this one and the honesty of Maria's feelings. 4.5/5 stars

Star of Bethlehem by Ally Carter - This was just too extravagant to conjure up the warmth and emotion that I'm looking for in this anthology. Whilst the writing style was lovely and I adored Aunt Mary, this just wasn't for me at all. 1/5 stars

The Girl Who Woke the Dreamer by Laini Taylor - I loved this special fantasy story and I can't believe how Laini Taylor was able to create a whole new, imaginative world in such few pages. This was the most unique story in the anthology. 4/5 stars

Something that I completely loved about this anthology was how wonderfully diverse it is. Varying in different gender leads, sexualities, races and religions, there is something in here for everyone.

This book was a sweet sequel to Dash and Lily's story. It was a really quick read and definitely filled me with plenty of Christmassy feelings. As a couple, Dash and Lily continue to be completely adorable and I particularly enjoyed the last 90ish pages of the book.

The first half of the book felt long and wasn't quite the cosy read I had been hoping for. It wasn't difficult to read but it did seem to lack the cuteness and magic from the original story. This picked up much better in the second half and I very much liked how this ended.

All in all this is a lovely Christmassy read.

In my eyes Alice Oseman can do no wrong. I fell in love with her writing when I read Radio Silence at the beginning of the year so to say that I went into this book with exceptionally high expectations would be an understatement. All I can say is that I was not disappointed.

Solitaire is the unflinchingly honest story of Tori Springs: pessimist, blogger, teenager. Tori is exceptionally pessimistic in every sense of the word, preferring to spend her time alone where possible and with the comfort of her blog. Tori has friends but whether or not she actually likes them depends very much on how she feels at the time. That is until Michael Holden arrives and there's something about him that even Tori can't block out.

The first thing I need to point out is that as well as being a human being, I am also a high school teacher. I think this makes a world of difference when reading a book like this sometimes. Not only can I relate to some of Tori's deepest emotions and feelings on a personal level but I instantly made connections between her and teenagers that I know and work with. That certainly makes this a special read for me.

Oseman perfectly captured for me how so many teenagers feel about themselves and school these days. So many of them despise the school environment and prefer to be at home on the other end of a digital device where they feel they can truly be themselves. This is one of the many issues and benefits to social media. I loved the way that Oseman used Tori's interactions with different characters to show different aspects of her personality. We saw the teenage frustration directed towards her parents, the ups and downs of teenage friendship, but for me, her most wonderful moments were those with her brother Charlie.

Solitaire was an exceptionally quick read for me, I just couldn't put it down. This was partly because of the wonderful writing style that Oseman has and partly because I was fascinated by the story and needed to know how it would unfold. Eventually Tori is forced out of her comfort zone when she wants to put an end to Solitaire and what happens is a wonderful, painful truth. Tori is not okay, she doesn't know when she will feel happy or what that feels like, she doesn't know if she wants to be happy, but she now knows there are people she can truly be herself around and that self-acceptance is very important.

'It's weird how you see someone who smiles all the time and you assume that they're happy all the time'

This is another fabulous book from Alice Oseman and if you haven't read her books yet I really urge you to.

This was such a lovely addition to the Solitaire world. I loved the characters in the original novel but this really made me adore Charlie. One of my favourite things from Solitaire was the relationship between Tori and Charlie so I was pleased that this relationship seemed to be the focus of this short story. Another very touching story from Alice Oseman.

Reading this book can only be compared to being trapped in a joyous, wonderful, beautiful whirlpool of raw emotion. From the very beginning I was drawn to Steffi and her world and I was in it right up until the very end. I read this book in two sittings and was quite happily lost in this extremely important and very relevant story. Sara Barnard has truly succeeded here to create a special, warm yet incredibly honest story of relationships, friendships, anxiety and teenage life.

A Quiet Kind of Thunder is the story of Steffi. Steffi isn’t like all the other kids at school: she is a selective mute who also suffers with extreme anxiety. Steffi struggles to communicate but even she can’t explain why. That is until she is introduced to Rhys, the new deaf boy at school. Thrown into Rhys’ world, Steffi learns to embrace her difficulties and open herself up to a whole world of possibility, hope and love.

I have to start by pointing out that I was a little anxious after reading the first few pages and even treated myself to a little eye roll when I assumed this would be the classic YA trope of 'teenage girl meets boy who will cure her of all her woes'. I now have to apologise for allowing this thought to enter my head because I am delighted to say that I could not have been more wrong. This book is not about Rhys fixing Steffi, or Steffi fixing Rhys, it is much more than that.

‘I don’t want a boy to be the reason I get better, what would that say about me if it is?’

There is so much growth in this book and so much to learn from it that I genuinely got to the last page and felt completely enlightened. I feel like I went on a real journey with these characters and I can’t help but confess that I loved every single second of it. I laughed, I held my breath, I ached, I rolled me eyes, I smirked: I felt like a teenager again. That’s how wonderfully Sara Barnard captures these characters and their world, thoughts, experiences and emotions.

This book was a very quick read with the additions of IMs, text messages, lists and even some BSL to learn along the way. I loved these little touches to the chapters as they truly reminded me that this is a story about teenagers.

There is such honesty to this book that at times I openly cringed and then found myself thinking ‘So what? We’ve all put our foot in it at some point’. A prime example from the book is when Steffi and Rhys are talking about a song and Steffi sends Rhys the link – he’s deaf. This book is scattered with the light-hearted impulsivity of teenagers, those small acts in life that we don’t think about that can impact on those around us. Some of those actions in this book, like the one above, are merely cast aside by the affected characters. Others are not and that is where we delve into the true complexity of the characters and story.

The characters in this story are all fantastic. Steffi is incredibly relatable, despite not being a selective mute or a teenager, I found so many ways in which my present and former self could relate with her. She goes on such an inspiring and sweet journey in this story but all of it seems so real. She is not cured by the end because that wouldn’t be realistic. She has, however, learned to embrace herself, her condition and her anxiety. As she learns to love others, she learns to love herself and, being both a human and a high school teacher, I cannot emphasise enough how important this message is to the world.

Our other two characters who I consider to play a key role in this story are Rhys and Tem. Rhys is a sweet, caring and wonderful person. I say that knowing full well that it implies he is perfect, but he isn’t. He has his flaws and those are explored in this book. In fact, I loved that Sara Barnard took the time to explore how the use of BSL can cause users to hold back some of what they really want to say, which in Rhys’ situation in the book causes him to be frustrated and to experience some anger issues, almost destructing relationships he has built.

Tem is the fierce best friend of Steffi. I absolutely adored Tem right from the very beginning. She is the daughter of a refugee and her and Steffi have been best friends since they were toddlers. Tem is fiercely protective of Steffi and their friendship reminded me so much of mine and my best friend’s relationship. Those all consuming friendships that we sometimes take for granted but know will always be there to save us. Barnard cleverly tackles the very teenage issue of friend vs boyfriend by having Steffi have to come to terms with some poor decisions she makes and for me that was the most painful part of this book. Tem also happens to be a POC and there is an example of racism in the book which is included sensitively but also to reflect the extent to which Steffi’s SM affects her life.

Relationships. Relationships. Relationships. I loved them. There were SO many fabulous examples of positive relationships in this book but they were all so different. I’ve already touched upon the wonderful relationships between Steffi, Tem and Rhys, but I cannot write a review of this book without talking about the relationship between Steffi and her parents. Steffi primarily lives with her father and step-mother, living with her mother and step-father during school holidays. Steffi’s relationship with her father was so incredibly supportive and loving that it really filled me with emotion. I understood immediately why she would want to spend the majority of her time living with him. Steffi’s mum has a different type of relationship with her. She is fiercely over-protective of Steffi, which as a teenager, Steffi obviously sees as being unfair. I loved how these relationships developed right at the end of the book.

Something that really resonated strongly with me throughout this book was the descriptions of anxiety. Steffi constantly battles with her anxiety and I loved how openly Barnard explored this. It was so relatable and I think that anyone who suffers with anxiety, regardless of the extent, will completely and utterly empathise with Steffi. Whether this was specific mention of her anxiety, the back and forth of positives vs negatives, the panic attacks, this book really shows how life consuming anxiety can be and I am glad that this book carries such a positive message about anxiety: it is difficult, sometimes impossible, but it is and will be okay.

‘It becomes something physical that clutches at my insides and squeezes out the air and the blood.’

This is truly a coming of age story that will be guaranteed to touch people of all generations. There is something for everyone to learn from reading this book. We all remember what it was like to be a teenager, but most importantly, to all those quiet ones out there, know that the world is listening to you and know that it’s okay to be you.

A really huge thank you to Netgalley, Pan MacMillan and Sara Barnard for my copy in exchange for an honest review.