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 MAZE RUNNER TRILOGY - THE SCORCH TRIALS

In my opinion, The Maze Runner series written by James Dashner, will give The Hunger Games a run for it's money! It took me a good few chapters to get completely sucked into The Scorch Trials; the second book from the trilogy, but once I was I couldn't put it down.

The Scorch Trials follows the same characters from The Maze Runner, Thomas, Teresa and the other Gladers as they face new threats following their escape from the maze. Solving The Maze was supposed to be the end and Thomas and his friends were sure that escape would mean freedom but WICKED isn't done yet. Phase Two has only just begun. In The Scorch there are no rules, no help, no mercy. You either make it or you die and the Gladers have one challenge; to cross The Scorch and reach a 'Safe Haven' in only two weeks. All bets are off and The Scorch Trials make The Maze look like a stroll in the park...

Like I said before, it did take me a little while to get stuck into this book and I think that was mainly because I read The Maze Runner almost a year ago and saw the movie back in January so the storyline and characters weren't fresh in mind, it took a little while for me to invest in them again. Once I had, I was sucked in by the fast-paced, exhilarating plot which twisted and turned when I least expected. There's no let up in this novel at all and just when you think things might be settling for the Gladers something more sinister and threatening than the last is thrown in their direction.

I don't want to say too much about this novel because I would hate to spoil it for you. After watching the trailer for the movie adaption there doesn't seem to be many similarities between the two so it's not going to matter a great deal if you watch the movie when it's released next month before you read the book. I would still highly recommend adding this to your reading list though, there are so many details and scenes which I'm sure they haven't included in the film, so don't miss out!

I've just started the third book in this series, Death Cure now and have the prequel to the series (but the latest book to be released) lined up afterwards. I know the author James Dashner wanted to expand the post-Flare world but did not want to involve the main characters, resulting in the prequel The Kill Order and the upcoming 2016 release Fever Code. Make sure you keep checking here and over on my twitter @laurenfell for my latest thoughts on this series - spoiler free of course!