March 2016 Book Haul

This year my mental health was at an all-time low, and since I wasn't getting the help I needed, I decided to help myself. I threw myself into something I love - books. I setup a bookstagram, a blog, and a twitter dedicated to my love of books, and tried to treat it like a new job. I read, wrote reviews, tweeted, had book photo shoots, and made new book friends, all in hopes that my mental health would improve. It's now the 31st of March, and I am very pleased to say that it has worked. Although I am not cured, I have gotten more confidence in myself, as well as a more positive outlook on life. I'm so happy that I decided to start this project, and I am definitely going to be continuing on with it! In fact, during April I will be blogging everyday! Yay!

During this turn-around month, I have bought my fair share of books. I think I bought more books during March than I did for the entirety of last year! My purse isn't happy, but my bookshelves are certainly looking better for it! So, without further ado, here is my March 2016 book haul!


This month I joined NetGalley, a website where you can receive free books from authors in return for an honest review. I am in love with this site! It's been so nice to find new authors, read books pre-release (including highly anticipated ones), and of course, get lovely books without having to spend a penny. I received Passenger by Alexandra Bracken, The Alpha Drive by Kristen Martin (you can read my review here), Presidential Pets by Julia Moberg, Unrivalled by Alyson Noel, My Name is Leon by Kit de Waal, Elizabeth Taylor: A Private Life for Public Consumption by Ellis Cashmore, True Born by L.E Sterling, and finally, The Other Side of Gravity by Shelly Crane. You can expect the reviews of all these books on the blog over the next couple of months, so stay tuned!

The first books I bought during March were The Danish Girl by David Ebershoff  and Me Before You by JoJo Moyes. I've been desperate to read these before I saw the films, as I've heard so many good things about both of them (The Danish Girl won 27 awards for goodness sake, including an Oscar!). I recently read Me Before You, and if you're following me on Twitter you'll know that it caused me to have a bit of breakdown (I've still not recovered!).

Then, I went on an online book haul. Most of the books I buy are second-hand (I'll be writing a post about why I love second-hand books on the 3rd of April, so stay tuned for that!), so it doesn't hurt my bank account as much as buying them new. The first batch of books I bought were: Hey, Let's Make a Band by 5 Seconds of Summer (I am seeing the boys in concert with my best friend, Brenna, on the 15th. So, I thought it was time I finally read their book!), Girl Online by Zoë Sugg (Brenna has been telling me to read this book since we became friends, so I finally took the plunge and bought a copy!), War & Peace by Leo Tolstoy (I completely fell in love with the BBC series of the book, so I'm very excited to read the book!) and "Who Could That Be at This Hour?" by Lemony Snicket (I am a huge Lemony Snicket fan, but I was completely in the dark about this series, so I am very, very, very excited to start reading them!).

A week later it was time to buy my next batch of books (I suffer with insomnia, so I tend to make a lot of late-night purchases...), and I settled on The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen (another book that Brenna has been begging me to read since we became friends, sorry it's taken me so long boo!), and All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. I've been seeing the hype for both of these books on Instagram, and I'm kicking myself that I didn't read them sooner!

My last batch of books was again done during those quiet twilight hours, but this time I had a mix of e-books & physical books. I was texting Brenna one afternoon and she told me that I should read The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet, and as she is my best friend I took her advice and ordered myself a copy (unfortunately it arrived with one page loose, but that's the problem with buying second-hand, it can be very hit and miss). I ordered a couple of other books, but as they won't be arriving 'til next week I am going to include them in my April Haul. The final purchase of the month was The 5th Wave by Rich Yancey (e-book), which I got for 99p on Amazon - bargain! I've been hearing great things about that book, so I'm really looking forward to finding out if it lives up to the hype!

So, that is my book haul for March 2016! In total I got sent/bought 18 books. Which is perfect, as I'm building new shelves for my room this weekend, so I'll finally have something to put on them! Have you read any of the books I bought this month, if so, what did you think of them? And what did you buy this month? Let me know in the comments below! ^-^

If you'd like to keep up-to-date with my book purchases, then please follow me on Instagram & Twitter. As I mentioned earlier, I will be attempting  blogging during April, so please check in regularly to read all those posts. Until tomorrow, then, my lovelies. I hope you a have a wonderful day!