Book Inspired Christmas Gifts!

I love Christmas - absolutely love it. The magical nature of it has never (and will never) disappear for me. Of course, one of my favourite presents to get is a new book, but there are so many other book inspired gifts you can give to loved ones this year and here are a selection of my favourites. All the links are correct at the time of posting - if they don't work just let me know! Lots of thanks to the hosts of the sites for letting me use their images and link to their sites. None of the images belong to me, I'm just using them to show you guys the amazing products on offer! The links to each individual product featured will be underneath the picture, so just click the caption to take you to that particular products page. If you just want to browse the company's website, the main link will be at the start of the each company's 'section'.




Books Before Boys Necklace, £12.00

First up, we have the The Literary Emporium. The first thing that caught my eye were their jewellery designs. As with many of the websites featured, they have an amazing selection of jewellery inspired by books but, if you don't want to be limited to a specific book, or aren't sure what the recipient's favourite book is, then I thought their Books Before Boys Necklace was really cute and, for £12.00, it's not going to break the bank! It's perfect for Christmas or Valentines Day (if you're exceptionally organised!) and is handmade with a silver plated charm and trace chain.

Keats Dewdrop Earrings, £16.00

 




Another elegantly simple piece of jewellery from this company are their Keats Dewdrop Earrings. They come on a cardboard plaque with a printed quote from Keat's poem Sleep and Poetry. They are slightly more expensive than the necklace at £16.00, but I think they're gorgeous! They come in either silver or rose gold and have sterling silver posts.

Magic Notebooks, £4.00

Finally, they also sell stationary, so for any aspiring writers out there this could be a perfect stocking filler. The notebook that caught my eye were the Magic Notebooks which are £4.00 and look like something straight from Harry Potter so it's a win win! They're A5 notebooks, with 48 lined pages and, if you can't decide which one to get, you can get all three for £10!









Custom Bookplate Stamp, £25.00

Next up are some companies I found on Etsy. First up is Papersushi and a really cute gift for anyone wanting to stake a claim on their books (and the book boyfriend's accompanying them) is their Custom Bookplate Stamp which is £25.00 plus shipping. It's a handmade wooden stamp and is made to order so it's personal to the recipient. They do ship worldwide and I think it's a different kind of gift for the book lover in your life.





Hebel Design creates jewellery based on YA books and they are amazing. There's a large selection to choose from and each collection's jewellery is based on the book series. My three favourite collections are the Lux collection (we all knew that was coming), the Iron Fey collection and the Shadowhunter collection, but they have collections based on other series such as the Grisha series and The Selection series so go check them out!

Beta Quartz Pendant, $30.00

From the Lux collection, I love this Beta Quartz Pendant. It's a little pricey at $30.00 but it really is gorgeous. It's a real Quartzite stone encased in a sterling silver case. The chain isn't provided but you can choose from the necklace options available. I just think it's so pretty and unique that it's worth the extra cost and, it's from the Lux series which is my favourite series ever. This is definitely on my wish list!

Ash's Amulet Pendant, $30.00

From the Iron Fey collection, comes another pendant, this time in the shape of Ash's pendant. Personally, I like the more subtle
desgins like the Beta Quartz pendant and this one. Again, this is $30.00 and again doesn't come with the chain. It's silver plated bronze and is so unique and different that you'll definitely get comments over it!

Witchlight Candle, $12.00

Finally, we have the Shadowhunter's collection. If you want something to set the atmosphere in these cold, dark evenings then take a look at this Shadowhunter candle. It's a plastic, battery operated tea light which flickers. For $12.00, this would be a nice stocking filler maybe?

Angelic Power Rune Tiny Earrings, $24.00

The other thing that caught my eye in this collection were this Angelic Rune Tiny Earrings. These tiny 6mm earrings are so cute and sit on sterling silver posts. For $24.00, they're small enough that you could wear these everyday.

Winnie the Pooh Real Fragment Bracelet, £32.00

Scribbelicious hand make jewellery from old books and create book themed gifts. I love looking through their designs, they're so easy to personalise and are something a little different to give as a gift this year. Now, I grew up with Winnie the Pooh and, even now, those characters have a special place in my heart. I love this page fragment bracelet with the characters names on it. It's £32.00 but it's so beautiful that it's completely worth it. It's a silver plated sweetie bracelet so that the bracelet will fit most wrist sizes and the charms are made from real page fragments. For anyone who loves these characters as much as I do, this would be a beautiful gift.

Mischief Managed Bookmark, £12.00

I think my favourite characters from the Harry Potter series are Fred and George (closely followed by Sirius) - I love those twins! I love how they are the next generation of pranksters, following on from Sirius & co. and the phrase 'Mischief Managed' just sums them up! This bookmark comes in either Bronze or Silver and is £12.00. Spread the mischief people!

Now you can also personalise the gifts you give from Scribbelicious. Simply click this link to go to the Customisable Archives to take a look at the products you can have customised. If you can't find what you're looking for, or have a specific quote or lyric in mind, then you can email them and they will sort it all out for you.

These are just a selection of fabulous products on offer this Christmas and I hope that it's given you some inspiration for your gifts this year! Thank you again to all the companies who have let me feature their products and I wish you all a Merry book-filled Christmas!

Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes

Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes

Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis: In the three kingdoms of Mytica, magic has long been forgotten. And while hard-won peace has reigned for centuries, a deadly unrest now simmers below the surface.

As the rulers of each kingdom grapple for power, the lives of their subjects are brutally transformed... and four key players, royals and rebels alike, find their fates forever intertwined. Cleo, Jonas, Lucia, and Magnus are caught in a dizzying world of treacherous betrayals, shocking murders, secret alliances, and even unforeseen love.
Princess: Raised in pampered luxury, Cleo must now embark on a rough and treacherous journey into enemy territory in search of magic long thought extinct.

Rebel: Jonas, enraged at injustice, lashes out against the forces of oppression that have kept his country cruelly impoverished. To his shock, he finds himself the leader of a people's revolution centuries in the making.

Sorceress: Lucia, adopted at birth into the royal family, discovers the truth about her past—and the supernatural legacy she is destined to wield.

Heir: Bred for aggression and trained to conquer, firstborn son Magnus begins to realise that the heart can be more lethal than the sword....  

Review: I really enjoyed this book, which surprised me. When I picked it up, the blurb sounded interesting but I wasn't sure I was going to buy into the storyline with all the characters involved. In reality, Morgan Rhodes balanced all the characters and their individual story lines really well and it made the book really unique.

The book has multiple Points of View which I know a lot of people (including myself) are wary of, but it really works here. Each character has their own story and, each time we get their chapter we get to understand their motivations more. A lot of books that use multiple POV favour one character over another but each character has an equal balance of screen time which is actually really refreshing to see.

The characters themselves are all really interesting. They all have strong personalities in some way and the way they behave and think really propels the story along. This book is heavily character driven but I thought it was really interesting to see why each character behaves in the way they do. We see a lot from Magnus and Cleo - the royalty of two of the kingdoms. When I started the book I thought I would hate Cleo and favour Magnus, but in reality, Cleo became one of my favourite characters. To begin with she's self centred and obnoxious but, as the story progresses, you understand that she's been sheltered from hardship her whole life so she is selfish because she's never had reason to be anything else. As we get even further, you see her realise how privileged her life is and she quickly grows and becomes a better character and princess because of it.

Magnus on the other hand, is the most tricky character of the bunch because you're never entirely sure what to make of him. He can be cruel like his father, but he does have a softer side which he often shows to his sister. He reminded me of Sebastian from the Mortal Instruments - following his fathers orders while fighting to protect his sister in his own special way. You can understand his thought process, and his dislike of his father, once you learn his past, but he is definitely one to watch for in the rest of this series.

The world building and the politics of this world was also really well done. Each kingdom is completely different both in environment, economic status, and the beliefs of the population. It was really interesting to see how the conflicting beliefs and values of each kingdom worked with and against the rulers and the power players and made me want to learn more about the world. In terms of the world, it did remind me slightly of the Queen of the Tearling in that, that book was really centred on the world. I think I actually preferred this world though, because we got to see how each kingdom worked whereas in TQoTT we really only focused on the one.

While one or two of the plot points were predictable, they didn't detract from how much I enjoyed this book and I would really recommend it to those of you who enjoy fantasy novels, or who enjoyed TQoTT. Now's the perfect time to read the series as the latest book is being released in the next few weeks!  

Image and Synopsis from Goodreads - no Copyright Intended

Top Ten Tuesday

So I'm hoping this blog post is going to kick off a long, long list of posts on this blog for the remainder of the year. I have so many books to read (which means a whole lot of reviews to write!) and I'm determined to make the remainder of 2015 as 'bookish' as possible. Saying that, we'll start off easy with this Top Ten Tuesday (on a Wednesday because I'm currently losing track of my days!) which is Ten Quotes from Books I've Read in the Past Year or So.

1. There are moments that you'll remember for the rest of your life, and there are moments that you think you'll remember for the rest of your life, and it's not often they turn out to be the same moment. ~ The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
2. You are an exceptional, talented, and brilliant young woman. Do not ever let anyone make you feel like you’re less. Do not ever let anyone make you feel invisible. Do not let anyone—not even a teacher who constantly sends you for coffee—push you around. ~ Bloodlines series by Richelle Mead
3. "You missed World Hist."
   "Did you take notes for me?"
   "No. I thought you were dead in a ditch." ~ The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
4. So I was thinking, there're eighty-six thousand, four hundred seconds in a day, right? There're one thousand, four hundred and forty minutes in a day...There're one hundred and sixty-eight hours in a week. Around eighty-seven hundred and then some hours in a year, and you know what?...I want to spend every second, every minute, every hour with you...I want a year's worth of seconds and minutes with you. I want a decade's worth of hours, so many that I can't add them up. ~ Origin by Jennifer L. Armentrout
5. “I am not a child, and I know plenty of love. Love is wanting to be with that person for the rest of your life no matter of the consequences. Love is being willing to sacrifice your life for somebody else.” He met his father’s eyes, “Love is seeing the good in somebody regardless of their title or station in life. Love is so painful and yet so wonderful that it is worth it!” Emane pushed himself back up again from the table speaking deliberately. “Love is understanding that someday you might lose the person that you love, but that every day you get to spend with them is worth the risk. Love is taking the good with the bad.” His voice rose with each sentiment. “Love is trust. Love is wanting to understand even when you don’t.” Staring at his father, Emane added, “I know of love, Father, and I did not learn it from Ciera.” ~ Wings of Arian by Devri Walls
6. Every hero is the villain of his own story ~ The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

So these are my top 6 quotes from books I've read this year - what are yours?