Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton: Arabian Nights + Western = PERFECTION

Title: Rebel of the Sands
Author: Alwyn Hamilton
Publisher: Penguin
Buy this book: Amazon / Book Depository

She’s more gunpowder than girl—and the fate of the desert lies in her hands. Mortals rule the desert nation of Miraji, but mystical beasts still roam the wild and barren wastes, and rumor has it that somewhere, djinni still practice their magic. But there's nothing mystical or magical about Dustwalk, the dead-end town that Amani can't wait to escape from. Destined to wind up "wed or dead," Amani’s counting on her sharpshooting skills to get her out of Dustwalk. When she meets Jin, a mysterious and devastatingly handsome foreigner, in a shooting contest, she figures he’s the perfect escape route. But in all her years spent dreaming of leaving home, she never imagined she'd gallop away on a mythical horse, fleeing the murderous Sultan's army, with a fugitive who's wanted for treason. And she'd never have predicted she'd fall in love with him...or that he'd help her unlock the powerful truth of who she really is.

Quite honestly I would have to describe Rebel of the Sands as absolute perfection. I loved this book from beginning to end, and finishing it made me sad because I didn't want to leave the world or the characters. I will eagerly be awaiting the next book in the series, but also know that I will read whatever Alwyn Hamilton writes in the future. That woman really knows how to weave a story, and she definitely knows how to write the perfect slow build romance - my favourite kind. If this book isn't on your radar yet then it really needs to be.

Weekly Recap: I'm Dying, But At Least I Have ALL The Books

I've not been up to much in the last week. I was supposed to go back to work after my two weeks off, but ended up having this whole week off sick. I came down with a cold around Christmas day, but that slowly progressed to laryngitis and a chest infection, which meant a trip to the doctors and now I am on a course of antibiotics. I have been taking the antibiotics for four days and am yet to feel better, which really sucks. No matter what, I'll be returning to work on Monday after three weeks off. I am going to struggle getting up early every morning now, but I'll have to get used to it.

The one good thing about being sick is the fact I have had more time to read and blog. That's how I have managed to get a few more posts scheduled, get 3 books ahead of my GR schedule and visit some of my favourite blogs. Hopefully this progress will continue throughout 2016, where I hope to post at least three times a week.

My haul this week is really large, and the worst part is that I had to actually cut it in half and put the others in next weeks. The reason it is so large is because I forgot to include any of my recent eARCs in my December haul. I always fail at that because I just forget them because they are all stored on my Kindle. I only seem to remember all the physical beauties that I get. So this time it is time to include all the eARCs.

The Martian by Andy Weir: Out of This World and Absolutely Hilarious

Title: The Martian
Author: Andy Weir
Publisher: Del Rey 
BUY THIS BOOK!!!: Amazon / Book Depository 

I'm stranded on Mars.
I have no way to communicate with Earth.
I'm in a Habitat designed to last 31 days.
If the Oygenator breaks down, I'll suffocate. If the Water Reclaimer breaks downs, I'll die of thirst. If the Hab breaches, I'll just kind of explode. If none of those things happen, I'll eventually run out of food and starve to death.
So yeah, I'm screwed. 

I am just going to put this out there: The Martian was my top read of 2015. Yes, an adult fiction, sci-fi book topped my favourites list. This is coming from someone who almost reads exclusively YA now. But this book deserves every single ounce of praise being awarded to it. If you're someone who only reads YA, or isn't a fan of sci-fi, or just hasn't really considered reading this book: change your mind! I honestly don't feel like you will regret it. I started this feeling a little nervous, I thought all the detailed space talk and equations would either go over my head or bore me to tears. I was worried this would be a book that I would struggle to get through. I was proved oh so very wrong. I could not put this book down, I was absolutely hooked to it and realised quite quickly that I had not only discovered a new favourite book, but also a favourite male protagonist. If you want more reasons you should pick it up then feel free to continue reading this review. But I will provide a quick list of reasons why you should just drop everything and go read it right now:

2015 End of Year Book Survey

Wow, it is that time of year once again. It is time to take a look back on my year in books. I love being able to do this on Goodreads, but I really love taking part in the End of Year Book Survery hosted over on the Perpetual Page Turner. I really can't wait to look back on all the wonderful, and not so wonderful, reads that I have had this year. It's also a chance to look back on my year of blogging which, if I'm honest, hasn't really been that busy as I have been on a break for most of it! 

Number of books read:

136

I am really pleased with this, especially considering I was only hoping to manage 100. I even managed to read more than last year, which is probably due to blogging a lot less. 

Number of re-reads:

14

I am quite happy that I actually got quit a few rereads in. I made a last minute decision a few days ago to start rereading HP, which I am currently doing. I also reread lots of books in series in order to read the next one. Also did a few rereads of Colleen Hoover books. 

Genre you read the most from:

I'm not too sure but I'd probably say it would end up being fantasy or contemporary, I devoured a lot of books from both those genres. 

Weekly Recap: An Engagement, Christmas & ALL THE BOOKS!

Now let's be honest, this isn't really a weekly recap. This is going to basically me recapping the last couple of months, as I have been the worst blogger in 2015 and barely blogged at all. It's a new year now though, so it is time for me to get back on top of blogging and try a little harder. And the best way to start seems to be recapping the last few months, which have been very eventful. And then sharing my latest book haul, which has built up very quickly.

My last recap was all the way back on Halloween, so I have two months to catch up on. This is going to be a longer post than usual as I want to go into detail on things. So feel free to skip ahead to the haul if you have absolutely zero interest in the personal! I think the most important thing to tell you all is... I'm engaged!