This time last time I would usually be curled up on the sofa or in bed reading a festive chick-lit novel and don't get me wrong, every now and again I do love a Christmas-themed read. However, for me, this year has been the year of the thriller novel and I've worked my way through some amazing, gripping stories throughout 2015, including You by Caroline Kepnes, The Never List by Koethi Zan and The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins.

So don your onesie or winter pjs, make a nice hot cup of tea and curl up on the sofa with one of these books that I guarantee you won't want to put down.

Little Black Lies by Sharon Bolton *
What's the worst thing your best friend could do to you? Admittedly, it wasn't murder. A moment's carelessness, a tragic accident - and two children are dead. Yours. This is the first line of the blurb and I know, it sounds intense but bear with, bear with. This book wasn't exactly what I expected, of course there is murder and death involved but it's not all entirely as sinister and evil as it first seems which I rather quite liked as it's a little different to your standard murder mystery.

Crazy Love You by Lisa Unger
Sometimes your best friend can be your worst enemy. Ian and Priss have been friends since they were children playing in the woods outside their small town. But Ian knows there's a darkness to Priss. Bad stuff seems to occur when she's around. Fires start. People die. Still, Priss is his best friend, and best friends are forever.
This is a weird one. Like Little Black Lies, Crazy Love You isn't everything it seems and I similar to You by Caroline Kepnes, this book is written from a male point of view which can be refreshing to read every now and again. This is pretty much a creepy-ass story of a girl who can't let go of her male best-friend Ian and that can make things a little itty bit difficult when said male friend meets a girl who makes him want to change for the better. Unfortunately for Ian, Priss doesn't like change. At all...

The Lie by C.L. Taylor
Jane Hughes has a loving partner, a job in an animal sanctuary and a tiny cottage in rural Wales. She's happier than she's ever been but her life is a lie. Jane Hughes does not really exist. Five years earlier Jane and her then best friends went on holiday but what should've been the trip of a lifetime rapidly descended into a nightmare that claimed the lives of two women. 

This book is gripping from the get-go which is amazing because we all know how much it sucks to hear great things about a book from other people but not be able to get past the first chapter yourself. You're instantly thrown into the story when 'Jane' receives a letter at work from someone who knows her name isn't Jane and it's in fact Emma. There's so much going on in this novel that I can't elaborate on the blurb any more without giving SO much away.

The theme and nature of this story is something that genuinely creeps me out a little which made for such a good read!

Disclaimer by Renee Knight *
Imagine coming across yourself in a novel, a novel that exposes your darkest secret. A secret you thought nobody knew. When an intriguing novel appears on Catherine's bedside table she curls up and begins to read. But as she turns the pages she is sickened to realise the story will reveal her darkest secret.

I'm only half-way through this one at the moment but really wanted to include it in this post because so far I love it. It's a little bit slow-moving but the general premise of the novel interested me so much that I'm going to persist because now we're getting to the juicy stuff and slowly beginning to discover who wrote the book about Catherine although we haven't uncovered the details of the dark secret she is trying so hard to conceal.

What are you reading this winter? Let me know in the comments below or tweet me over at @laurenfell

*These books were gifted to me by Transworld Publications.

WHAT'S IN MY TRAVEL BAG?

At 4am on Thursday morning I'll be waking up, drinking lots of tea and getting ready to head off to St Pancras Station where I'll jump on the Eurostar with one of my best friends to spend four days in the city of Paris! I am hugely excited about going back to the City of Lights, I haven't visited since I was a child so I'm really looking forward to experiencing all the city has to offer including food, shopping, Disneyland, sight-seeing, more food and more shopping.

Along with the standard things I'll be packing for this trip like everyday make-up and toiletries etc there were also a few extra special things I'm throwing into my travel bag for this trip and I wanted to share them with you.

First is my beloved Lush Tea Tree Water spray. I can't go a morning or evening without using this product now as it just makes me skin feel so clean and fresh. I wrote a whole post dedicated to this awesome product which was basically just me going on about all the incredible things this product can do so if you want to know more then click here.

My trusty Bourjois Paris 123 Perfect CC Cream will also be joining me for the trip. Choosing one foundation is tricky when you're only away for a few days but this product is one of my absolute favourites because it's lightweight enough for the daytime and I can also add a little more for a fuller coverage in the evenings when we go for dinner and drinks. This CC cream also targets tired looking skin, redness and dark spots so after a 4am start on Thursday I'm gonna be needing as much anti-fatique as I can get!

I'm a sucker for a book to read when I'm away even though I don't think I'm going to have much time to relax and read, I will need something to distract me during the 2 hour Eurostar train journey from London to Paris. At the moment I'm hooked on Joe Sugg's graphic novel Username: Evie. Not only is it apt because the best friend I'm going to Paris with is called Evie but it also happens to be a bloomin' good read which I really recommend even if you've never bought a graphic novel before!

If you can't wear fancy, brightly coloured lipsticks in Paris then when can you? This was my thinking behind packing these gorgeous two shades from MAC; Candy Yum Yum and Vegas Volt. Both are bright, daring shades that I'm very excited to wear as I usually stick to much more muted, nude shades such as Pure Zen or Honey Love.

Finally, I'll be packing Zoella's light and lovely Let's Spritz body mist. Although recently I've discovered a real love for perfumes thanks to Vera Wang's Lovestruck, I've only ever really been a body-mist kinda gal after falling in love with the Victoria Secret and Hollister sprays. I like how light and fresh they are without smelling too musky and this one of Zoella's does the trick perfectly.

BOOKSHELF: THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN BY PAULA HAWKINS

A love of crime/thriller novels is one I think I've inherited from my mum, after first borrowing her James Patterson books I discovered a love for all things gruesome and grisly (I know, how weird does that make me sound) so when I first heard about this book I was dying to read it. This post won't contain any spoilers. Zero, zilch, nil!

The Girl On The Train* is told through the perspective of three different women; Rachel, Anna and Megan. Rachel is ultimately the girl on the train. She makes the same two journeys each day in and out of London and in the morning her train stops, like clockwork, at the same signal. From the train she can see into the lives of a couple that live in a house that backs onto the train tracks.

She names them; 'Jason' and 'Jess' and day in, day out she watches them, making guesses about their lives and relationship until one day the train stops at the signal and Rachel sees something that changes everything and she finally has a chance to become more than just the girl on the train.

The story is gripping, with insane amounts of twists and turns, some slightly predictable and if I am completely honest - which I always aim to be when writing my bookshelf reviews - the ending for me was less of a surprise and more of a confirmation of suspicions I'd had throughout. That's okay though, as it's not always necessary to be kept entirely in the dark where crime and thrillers are concerned, you'll want to keep reading regardless to find out if your theories are proved right in the end.

I quite enjoyed the fact that I found Rachel a difficult lead character to like, she had traits that I'm sure most women can relate to on some level but at times I was frustrated with her and I've rarely felt like that about a protagonist in a novel before.

It's tricky for me to talk about The Girl On The Train without spoiling aspects of the plot but I would 100% recommend this novel if you're a fan of twisting and turning mysteries and thrillers. This book isn't as gruesome or grisly as some others I've read, like YOU by Caroline Kepnes, but it's gripping nonetheless with a lot more insight into the emotional damage left behind by betrayal and broken relationships which is the recurring theme throughout.

Let me know if you've read The Girl On The Train, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

*This book was sent to me for review by Transworld Publications.

MAZE RUNNER: THE SCORCH TRIALS UK PREMIERE

Firstly, I'd like to say how sorry I am for not updating in such a long time. Life has just been manic and you know what it's like when you feel like everything's on fast forward and you could really do with a pause button while you have a cup of tea and let yourself catch up!

However, on Monday night (7th September) I was extremely lucky to be invited to the UK premiere of Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials at Vue cinema in Leicester Square, London. Let me start by saying I am a huge fan of this book series - and the first movie which was released at the end of last year - so this was an opportunity I was not going to miss! It was a manic rush to get up to London after work on a Monday night but my gosh it was well worth it. As usual, no spoilers in this here post my friends, so don't fear.

The event was hosted by YouTube star Jim Chapman who was so, so lovely and did a great job getting the fans waiting outside the cinema excited for the arrival of the movie's stars. Unfortunately, Dylan O'Brien who plays Thomas in the series had major food-poisoning and was unable to make it but Kaya Scodelario, Ki Hong Lee, Thomas Brodie-Sangster and director Wes Ball all made an appearance before the film begun to answer some fan questions.

The Scorch Trials continues where The Maze Runner left off. The Gladers are just out of the maze and thrust into a compound, being clothed, fed and looked after properly for the first time in years all seems well and good, with the promise of a new life just around the corner. However, not is all as it seems and Thomas soon learns that not everyone can be trusted. He escapes the compound with Teresa, Newt, Minho, Frypan and others into The Scorch where they encounter those left behind after sun flares scorched the earth, unleashing a nasty virus called The Flare. The Gladers find hope in rumours of a rebellion army called The Right Arm and they make it their mission to find these survivors, but WCKD aren't far behind...

Now, I had a lot of expectations for this movie because I'm such a fan of the books but I was pleasantly surprised by the adaption for the big screen. Although there were quite a few things that were different from the novels, Wes Ball had directed it in such a way that kept the true spirit of the Maze Runner series, written by James Dashner. There were moments from the movie that made me glance over at the hardcore fans (some dressed in costume) to see their reaction and it was really lovely to see how much they appreciated the small details that had been included.

It was an intense, fast-paced roller coaster ride of a movie that had me screaming, crying and laughing throughout and I am already dying to see it again once it's released in the UK tomorrow, September 10th. 

Will you be watching Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials?