Living with Crohn’s Disease (Crohn’s and Colitis Awareness Week)

M.T.Wilson @ The Last Book on the Left8 Comments

This week is Crohn’s & Colitis Awareness Week so I’m going to be doing something a little different on my blog today. I don’t talk about personal things much on here, but I’m hoping by sharing my experiences of living with Crohn’s Disease it will help raise awareness.

There are a range of symptoms and not everyone’s experience of Crohn’s Disease is the same. This post will be explaining a bit about Crohn’s Disease and what my personal experience of the condition has been.

Most people I meet have never heard of Crohn’s Disease. According to Crohn’s & Colitis UK, it’s estimated that one in every 650 people in the UK are affected by Crohn’s Disease. But sadly it’s a misunderstood and often stigmatised condition.

Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis are the two main forms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). They are chronic conditions that can be managed through various treatment options, including medication and surgery.  

Crohn’s Disease causes inflammation of the digestive system or gut. Symptoms vary from person to person, but include diarrhoea, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, mouth ulcers, weight loss, anaemia, joint pain, as well as wider health complications. I’ve experienced all of these symptoms at various points in the last 15 years. You can find more detailed information about Crohn’s Disease on the Crohn’s & Colitis UK website.

Management of diet is also important for coping with Crohn’s Disease day-to-day for many people, although the extent food affects people seems to vary, and everyone has different foods they can and cannot tolerate. I can’t eat any whole grains or oats at all. While there are some foods I can eat in moderation with careful planning, for example cheese and chocolate.

I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease at the age of 9 and to be honest, I don’t really remember a time when I wasn’t ill. People are diagnosed at all stages of life, some in childhood, some in their teens, some in early adulthood, some later in life.

The condition is life-long, although there can be periods of relative wellness interspersed with flare ups. For me it’s been an endless cycle. I’ll be very unwell, then have a few months or years of being fairly well, and then have another flare up, over and over again in a cycle. Stress can be a trigger for flares, which has happened to me a couple of times. It’s important to remember that Crohn’s Disease doesn’t go away during those ‘good’ periods. I still suffer from bad fatigue, still have to be careful to avoid trigger foods, and sometimes still get symptoms.

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November 2020 Wrap Up

M.T.Wilson @ The Last Book on the Left4 Comments

November ended up being a pretty good month for me. I managed to stay well and got LOADS of writing done! I only read 3 books but two of them were really long so I’m still happy with that.

Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – This is the second book in the Dark Artifices series and while I enjoyed it, I didn’t love it quite as much as Lady Midnight which was just absolutely brilliant.

It Only Happens in the Movies by Holly Bourne ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Holly Bourne’s books are just so good. This one picks apart clichés in romance films and portrays teen life in a way that was funny but also really realistic.

A Storm of Swords Part I by George R. R. Martin ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – I don’t know about other countries, but here in the UK the third book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series is split into two volumes because it’s so long! It was really weird how the book just finished in the middle of the story, so I will definitely be picking up Part II soon.

I had two amazing special editions arrive this month. Illumicrate’s book for October was The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and their edition is just so beautiful! I also couldn’t resist a special edition of Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo as her Grishaverse is one of my favourite series. I got the Fairyloot edition which has exclusive stencilled edges. As I’ve mentioned before, I LOVE dragons, and I was so excited when I saw the premise for Blazewrath Games by Amparo Ortiz, it sounds amazing!

So… I did it!! I finished my WIP! In my October wrap up I didn’t think I would be able to finish it by the end of November, but I ended up having such a good month for writing. I wrote 22,000 words in November and managed to finish my YA Arthurian legend retelling. I am so so excited to have finished my first draft! The final word count is 75,674 which I am pretty happy with. My first drafts are usually quite short and then get longer as I redraft. Now I’m going to have a bit of a break from it before I start working on it again. But I’m so excited about it, I probably won’t be able to resist coming back to it in a week or two. I’ve just really connected with this project and I’m really looking forward to continuing working on it.

Have you read any good books this month? Did anyone take part in NaNoWriMo, how did you do? Chat with me in the comments!

Book Review: It Only Happens in the Movies by Holly Bourne

M.T.Wilson @ The Last Book on the LeftLeave a comment

It Only Happens in the Movies by Holly Bourne  

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

Publishing Info: October 2017 by Usbourne Publishing

Pages: 410

Star Rating: 5/5

Back Cover Summary:

Audrey is over romance. Since her parents’ relationship imploded her mother’s been catatonic, so she takes a cinema job to get out of the house. But there she meets wannabe film-maker Harry. Nobody expects Audrey and Harry to fall in love as hard and fast as they do. But that doesn’t mean things are easy. Because real love isn’t like the movies…

The greatest love story ever told doesn’t feature kissing in the snow or racing to airports. It features pain and confusion and hope and wonder and a ban on cheesy clichés. Oh, and zombies… YA star Holly Bourne tackles real love in this hugely funny and poignant novel.

This is my second book by Holly Bourne and she is definitely a talented writer. Once again, I found myself sucked into the story. She has a way of writing YA contemporary books that just reads so naturally and is really easy to connect to. I wish her books had been out when I was a teen because they are just so good and really relatable, and so amazingly feminist too.  

What I loved about It Only Happens in the Movies is that it’s fun and humorous, while also giving a really realistic portrayal of teen life. The book examines all the clichés you find in romance films and how unrealistic they are. As much as I do enjoy a good romance flick, they don’t explore any of the messy bits of relationships and can be so predictable!

Holly Bourne is really honest about the ups and downs of being a teen. So many YA romance stories almost feel like a fantasy in a way, because there are often a lot of clichés and predictable endings, but It Only Happens in the Movies feels so real and relatable.

There are some really well-written sex scenes and conversations about sex and the anxieties around experiencing it for the first time. Audrey’s parents are also going through a divorce and Holly Bourne portrayed the conflicting feelings and raw emotions of that experience so well.

If you haven’t read any of Holly Bourne’s books yet, I would thoroughly recommend them! I especially recommend to UK readers! There aren’t enough books set in UK high schools and sixth forms and I so enjoyed reading a book with a setting that I could relate to more than the typical US high school stories. I shan’t talk about the ending, because I don’t want to spoil it, but it was a very satisfying conclusion to an excellent book.

Let’s Talk Bookish: Rereading Books

M.T.Wilson @ The Last Book on the Left6 Comments

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books and Dani @ Literary Lion. Today’s topic is all about rereading books!

Do you reread books? How often?

I very rarely reread books. I just don’t have as much time for reading as I would like, so I prioritise reading new books rather than rereading. There are so many books out there, though I know it will be impossible to read them all! It’s important to support new authors as well.

Rereading books is an interesting experience since you’re already familiar with the story, and I often find I discover new things I missed the first time around. So I do enjoy rereading and I would do it more if I had more time.

Do you reread a series before reading the newest book?

No, again because of the time issue, but sometimes I wish I was able to do this more! Especially since I often leave a big gap between books in series and forget a lot of what happened in the previous book! If I had more time this is probably something I would do. There are some series I want to reread in future, and I think then I would try reading them closer together.

I’m planning on rereading The Beautiful by Renée Ahdieh before I read The Damned, since it’s more than a year ago since I read The Beautiful, and I read an eARC as well so I’d like to read the finished copy.

Is there a certain book or series that you always come back to reread?

Not really, but there are some I would like to read again sometime. The Hunger Games, Shadowhunters, Blood Red Road, Ombria in Shadow, The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray, A Court of Thorns and Roses, Shadow and Bone, to name a few. I’m sure in a few years’ time I will reread some of these!

Do you count rereads towards your monthly/yearly goals?

On the rare occasion that I do reread a book, yes I do, because it’s still reading, even if I’ve read the book before!

Do you feel guilty about rereading books?

I don’t reread much but when I do, I do feel guilty for neglecting all the new books on my shelves I haven’t read yet!

Do you reread books often? What do you enjoy about rereading? Let me know in the comments!

Let’s Talk Bookish: How Many POVs is Too Many?

M.T.Wilson @ The Last Book on the Left9 Comments

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books and Dani @ Literary Lion. This week’s Let’s Talk Bookish is a freebie so I decided to look back at topics I’d missed from previous weeks. Today I’ll be talking about POVs!

I have to say I love books with multiple POVs. They don’t work for every story, and I do enjoy single-perspective books, but I just love getting to see inside multiple characters’ heads. I like both reading and writing multi-perspective stories, especially when there’s a large cast who aren’t necessarily with each other the whole book. Seeing what different characters are up to and how their stories come together in the end is so satisfying to me. It’s also interesting seeing how different characters view situations, especially if they come from different backgrounds, have different morals etc. Especially in fantasy, seeing different perspectives can really build on the world as well.

I wish there were more books with more than one or two POVs in YA. A lot of YA books seem to focus on one protagonist, or switch between two, and I often wish I could go and explore what other characters are up to as well.

I do prefer third person over first person when there are multiple POVs. It’s really difficult to pull off two or more distinct first person voices in a book and it can get confusing and jarring. It can be done really well, but I think it’s quite challenging for the writer.

It is important when having multiple POVs for there to be enough time to properly develop each of the POV characters, and also to make sure each of their stories are interesting and unique and actually adds something to the overall plot. Sometimes extra POVs just don’t seem necessary, but sometimes you really couldn’t do without them and it would be a totally different story without multiple POVs. There needs to be a purpose behind it, and each POV needs to drive the plot. They need to carry the story forward in some way, and also have their own arc. There can be too many POVs if they don’t all have a purpose.

What do you think about having multiple POVs? Do you enjoy these types of books, or do you prefer to have just one POV? Is there such thing as too many POVs? Share your thoughts with me in the comments!

Book Review: Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare

M.T.Wilson @ The Last Book on the LeftLeave a comment

Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance  

Publishing Info: May 2018 by Simon and Schuster Children’s UK (first published 2017)

Pages: 699

Star Rating: 4/5

Back Cover Summary:

Emma Carstairs has finally avenged her parents. She thought she’d be at peace. But she is anything but calm. Torn between her desire for her parabatai Julian and her desire to protect him from the brutal consequences of parabatai relationships, she has begun dating his brother, Mark. But Mark has spent the past five years trapped in Faerie; can he ever truly be a Shadowhunter again?

And the faerie courts are not silent. The Unseelie King is tired of the Cold Peace, and will no longer concede to the Shadowhunters’ demands. Caught between the demands of faerie and the laws of the Clave, Emma, Julian, and Mark must find a way to come together to defend everything they hold dear—before it’s too late.

Lord of Shadows is the second book in the Dark Artifices trilogy. The first in the series, Lady Midnight, instantly became one of my favourite Shadowhunters books when I read it earlier this year. Unfortunately, while I enjoyed Lord of Shadows, I didn’t get quite the same feeling from it as the first book.

Lord of Shadows is very long and felt too drawn out to me. Too much time seems to be spent on the relationship drama, and the main plot falls to the wayside too often. Relationships are always a big part of Cassandra Clare’s books, but the plot was very strong in Lady Midnight with a clear arc and goal for the characters. While the characters did have a goal in Lord of Shadows, that didn’t become clear until a fair chunk into the book, and then the main conflict seemed secondary to character drama for too much of the remaining pages. The final, shocking chapter felt too rushed and ended very suddenly.

The Blackthorn family and their dynamics is part of what I loved about Lady Midnight, and is also one of the best aspects of Lord of Shadows. While I did feel the relationships dominated too much at times, I did appreciate the character development in this book. We got to see a lot more of some of the characters, such as Kit, Ty and Diana. I wasn’t keen on Kit at first but he grew on me and I liked seeing how he came to terms with his new position (can’t say more without spoiling Lady Midnight!).  

The Blackthorns end up in the London Institute for a time, and readers of The Infernal Devices will enjoy some references to that series. I haven’t read Chain of Gold yet, but there also seemed to be some references to the characters from the Last Hours series, which was published after the Dark Artifices series. It always astonishes me how far in advance Cassandra Clare seems to plan this stuff out!

I gave Lady Midnight 5 stars because I just fell in love with the story and the characters. Sadly, Lord of Shadows didn’t hit the same note for me. I’m still excited to see how the trilogy concludes in Queen of Air and Darkness though, especially after that final chapter took the story in a direction I hadn’t anticipated. I’m glad I don’t have to wait for it to be released. However, the final book in the series is an absolute monster at 870 pages so I’m really hoping the angst doesn’t take over too much…     

The Outstanding Blogger Award

M.T.Wilson @ The Last Book on the Left16 Comments

I was nominated for this last month but was busy with work and then I wasn’t feeling well and the days and weeks just slipped past. Thank you so much to Abby at Beyond the Read for nominating me! They have an awesome blog so go and check it out!

The Rules

  1. Provide the link to the creator’s original award post. (Very important: see why in step 5.) The original post by Colton Beckwith can be found here.
  2. Answer the questions provided.
  3. Create 7 unique questions.
  4. Nominate 10 bloggers. Ensure that they are aware of their nomination. Neither the award’s creator nor the blogger that nominated you can be nominated.
  5. At the end of 2020, every blog that pings-back the creator’s original post will be entered to win the 2020 Outstanding Blogger Award!

Onto Abby’s questions!

1.Who is your blogging inspiration?

This is a hard question. I started my blog way back in 2012 (although I didn’t post very often at the start) and I hadn’t actually read any other blogs before I started my own! As I’ve been blogging more over the last few years and discovered so many other amazing bloggers, I’d say this wonderful community as a whole is my inspiration.

2. What are the three most recent additions to your TBR?

For my physical TBR – Blazewrath Games, Crownchasers and The Lives of Saints.

3. What’s your latest non-bookish obsession?

Ooh another tough question. I’m not sure I’d call it an obsession, but I have recently been re-watching all the Star Wars movies in order. I finished with The Rise of Skywalker last weekend.

4. Pick two, drop one: plot, characters, or writing?

How can you make me choose?! I think the best stories are the ones that weave all the elements that make up a great story, if that makes sense. But if I had to pick, I would choose plot and writing and drop characters. I’m sure I must be in a minority as most people seem to prioritise characters. If I don’t enjoy a book’s writing style I find it hard to get through. And plot is really important to me.

5. Do you play any instruments?

I don’t but I had singing lessons when I was in high school and did singing exams. I have a Grade 5 in singing. I’ve been in a choir ever since then, so it’s been sad I’ve not been able to go since the pandemic!

6. Where do you feel most at peace?

I’m not sure I feel at peace anywhere, I’m not very good relaxing. But I’d say when I feel most at peace is just after I’ve been writing. Writing always makes me feel so alive and gives me a kind of buzz, but it also somehow makes me feel at peace at the same time, perhaps because it brings me such joy.

7. What’s your favorite fall drink?

I don’t really have one as there aren’t many fancy drinks I can have because of dietary requirements. I just drink English Breakfast tea all year round. But I do have a chai latte as a treat on occasion.

My questions:

  1. Do you like listening to music while you read?
  2. What is the best book you’ve read in 2020 so far?
  3. What is the best movie or TV show you’ve seen in 2020 so far?
  4. Are there any sequels you liked more than the first book?
  5. Besides reading, what other hobbies do you enjoy?
  6. What book is underrated but you wish more people knew about?
  7. What is your most anticipated 2021 release?

Nominated:

Resa @ Serial Thrillers

Evelyn @ Evelyn Reads

Georgia @ Georgia Haze

Darcy @ The Blogging DJ

Joanna @ The Geekish Brunette

Sofii @ A Book. A Thought.

Raji @ Worlds Unlike Our Own

JJ @ Notes by J

Rukky @ Eternity Books

Breanna @ Paws & Paperbacks

No pressure to take part if you’ve already been nominated or don’t do tags!

Let’s Talk Bookish: Romance as a Subplot

M.T.Wilson @ The Last Book on the Left4 Comments

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books and Dani @ Literary Lion. Today’s topic is all about romance subplots and I feel like I’m going to have a lot to say about this one!

I think romance subplots need to strike the right balance. They can add to the story in a really great way, but when they come to dominate the characters’ thoughts it can get annoying. This is especially an issue in fantasy and sci-fi, where the stakes are pretty high, say for example there is some kind of world-ending crises, but all they can think about is their feelings. Of course, their feelings are still important, but focusing on the right elements of the story at the right times is so important. Romance can end up distracting the characters from the main plot too much, and that does frustrate me sometimes.

The worst thing about romance subplots is when they are thrown in for the sake of it. Sometimes romance subplots, especially in YA, feel like they are included just to tick a box because it’s become so expected for there to be romance. I can’t think of any I’ve read recently, but I remember noticing this in the past.

I like variety in what I’m reading. I do love stories with romance in them, but I do also enjoy reading books that don’t have romance, and are more focused on the plot, platonic relationships or family. We need more of these kinds of books! Or ones where there is romance, but it develops more slowly over a series rather than in the span of one book. Sometimes romances just seem to develop too quickly.

Another important thing for me when it comes to romance is reader expectations. I want to know what I’m getting myself into before I read a book. If a description doesn’t make it clear romance is the focus, I’m disappointed when the whole book is about romance, especially if I’ve picked it up because I’m looking for something without romance right then. And on the flip side, when a book is promoted based on its romance and then that content is lacking, that’s disappointing too. So I think expectations are important.

Romance can work as a main plot or a subplot, and I enjoy both. What I want to read depends what mood I’m in. So how the book is marketed and whether I go into it with the right expectations is going to make a difference to how much I enjoy it.

I do seem to have read a lot of fantasy and sci-fi books in the last couple of years in which romance plays quite a big part, especially in YA. However, a recent read that springs to mind is Forest of Souls by Lori M. Lee, which I loved, and it didn’t have any romance in it! I could see there being some romance potentially develop in the sequel, which would be fine, but I really liked that the first book in the series focused on the plot and friendships. I would like to read more books that have less of a focus on romance, so if anyone has any recommendations do share them with me in the comments!

October 2020 Wrap Up

M.T.Wilson @ The Last Book on the Left16 Comments

There was so much I wanted to get done this month, but October just didn’t end up being so great for me. I haven’t done as much blogging or blog hopping this month sadly. I’ve been busier at work, and my fatigue has been worse. It’s been a bit of a struggle. I’m thinking of writing a blog post about my experience of chronic illness at some point, perhaps in December for Crohn’s & Colitis awareness week. I also found out this week that we’re going through a restructure at work. I should have a job for the time being, but it’s quite stressful. I haven’t been told much yet, but it could have quite big implications for my role.

I might not be blogging as much the next couple of months depending how I’m feeling health-wise. The limited time I have when I feel good, I need to focus on writing my novel. But I will still be blogging and reading blog posts when I can!

The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – I really loved this one and would recommend it even for people who don’t usually go for sci-fi!

The Roommate by Rosie Danan ⭐⭐⭐ – I very rarely read contemporary books, but I’ve read so much fantasy this year that I just needed to read something totally different. I had no idea what to pick but I’d heard this one mentioned a few times so got it on my Kindle. I didn’t write a review for it because this is just not my genre so I wouldn’t really know what to say! It was okay but I didn’t love it. It served its purpose of giving me a break from fantasy. I would like to read more romance books occasionally, so if anyone has any recommendations please share them with me!

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir ⭐⭐⭐ – I’ve heard so much about this series and I was so excited to read this book. Sadly though, I just didn’t click with it. There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s a good book. I can’t even put my finger on why I didn’t enjoy it more. It has all the elements I should love in a fantasy book. I didn’t write a review for this one either because I just didn’t know what to say about it, because I’m not sure why I didn’t connect with it. Perhaps some of it was just down to timing and the mood I’ve been in this month.

Manga Shakespeare: Much Ado About Nothing ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – I read some of these books a while ago as a way to introduce myself to Shakespeare plays I was studying before diving into the play. It can be quite hard to keep track of who is who when reading the plays, and I found these Manga adaptations gave a helpful and enjoyable overview. I realised I had a couple on my shelf I hadn’t read because I didn’t end up studying them.

The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – When I marked this as finished on Goodreads, it showed that my start date for this book was September 2019. I cannot believe it took me so long to read it! I don’t generally enjoy short stories that much, so I’ve been reading the odd story from this collection every now and then between other books.

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong ⭐⭐⭐⭐ – This is a brilliant debut! It’s a retelling of Romeo and Juliet set in 1920s Shanghai and I really enjoyed it. (although there was a bit too much gore for me in places!)

This month I ended up with only a couple of books. But I have several ordered which are due to arrive in November so I think I will need to go on a book buying ban! I love YA sci-fi and Crownchasers by Rebecca Coffindaffer sounds amazing so I just had to get myself a copy. I also bought Illumicrate’s edition of The Lives of Saints by Leigh Bardugo. This book is just so beautiful, the illustrations are stunning!

Although I had a pretty rough month, I still managed to write double the amount I wrote in September. This month I wrote about 12,000 words of my WIP and I’m roughly two thirds of the way through the book. So I am happy with that, but I know I could have written so much more if I’d been feeling better. I don’t think I’ll reach my original goal of finishing it by the end of November. I’d really like to finish it by Christmas.

What have you been reading? What have you been up to? Chat with me in the comments!

Book Review: These Violent Delights (eARC)

M.T.Wilson @ The Last Book on the Left7 Comments

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Fantasy  

Publishing Info: eARC from Hodder & Stoughton  

Pages: 464

Star Rating: 4/5

Back Cover Summary:

Perfect for fans of The Last Magician and Descendant of the Crane, this heart-stopping debut is an imaginative Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai, with rival gangs and a monster in the depths of the Huangpu River.

The year is 1926, and Shanghai hums to the tune of debauchery.

A blood feud between two gangs runs the streets red, leaving the city helpless in the grip of chaos. At the heart of it all is eighteen-year-old Juliette Cai, a former flapper who has returned to assume her role as the proud heir of the Scarlet Gang-a network of criminals far above the law. Their only rivals in power are the White Flowers, who have fought the Scarlets for generations. And behind every move is their heir, Roma Montagov, Juliette’s first love…and first betrayal.

But when gangsters on both sides show signs of instability culminating in clawing their own throats out, the people start to whisper. Of a contagion, a madness. Of a monster in the shadows. As the deaths stack up, Juliette and Roma must set their guns-and grudges-aside and work together, for if they can’t stop this mayhem, then there will be no city left for either to rule.

Thank you so much to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My first impression of These Violent Delights was that Chloe Gong is a spellbinding writer. The first chapter had me hooked with its stunning writing and intriguing premise. As an English Literature graduate, I was all in for a Shakespeare retelling. Romeo and Juliet is a classic tale, and Chloe Gong has crafted an excellent reimagining which uses the themes from the original in an interesting way. I loved that this isn’t the story of them falling in love, but rather of them meeting again after years apart following a tragedy that caused a rift between them. There are also other references to the original Shakespeare play which are very satisfying.

Chloe Gong does an absolutely brilliant job of making the setting come to life. I felt immersed in 1920s Shanghai, in terms of the sights, smells and sounds, but also in terms of the history. I didn’t know much about the history of Shanghai before reading this book, and enjoyed discovering something new. As well as being about romance and the mystery, These Violent Delights also explores very important themes, such as political divides, colonisation and culture. Sometimes I feel like in retellings the stories are transposed to a different time period and/or setting for the sake of it, just as a way to twist the story, but in this case the choice of 1920s Shanghai really worked as an alternate setting for Romeo and Juliet. The story melded with the setting so well. This is an excellent example of how setting, plot, theme and character can intertwine very effectively.  

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