2015 in Review: Movies and TV

tháng 12 31, 2015 No comments

Even though I don't usually blog about movies or tv, I do like my year end list summaries.

2015 Movies I saw this year

Mad Max: Fury Road
The Avengers: Age of Ultron
Insurgent (DVD)
Spectre
Trainwreck (plane)
Pitch Perfect 2 (DVD)
The Duff (DVD)
Sleeping With Other People (plane)
Paper Towns (plane)
Jupiter Ascending (TV)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Jurassic World (DVD)
Minions (DVD)
Home (DVD)

Total of 14 (four more than last year)

Notable movies I saw in 2015 that were released before 2015

Whiplash
Birdman
Stormpiercer
Mockingjay Part 1
If I Stay
Wild
Interstellar

2015 movies I still want to see

Mockingjay Part 2
Joy

TV series I watched in 2015

Mad Men Final Season

The Bates Motel Season 3
12 Monkeys Season 1
The Last Ship Season 1+2
Camp Cutthroat Kitchen
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

How was your year in movies and TV?

My Awesome Reads of 2015

tháng 12 30, 2015 best of No comments

I read over 90 books in 2015, and annotated all of them for my MFA program at VCFA, though I didn't talk about many of them here. As you can see by the handy Goodreads graphic below, many of them were backlist. If you click on this link, you can find out more about each of my favorites. Also, see my Awesome Reads of 2014 which I just posted now, one year late!

Top Five Books I'm Looking Forward to in 2016

tháng 12 29, 2015 books I'm looking forward to, top five No comments

So it's the end of 2015 and I still can't quite believe it. A lot happened this year - I passed all my exams, graduated from university, went on holiday and even found myself a job! (Though technically I don't start until 2016, but whatever.) I've also read a lot of books this year, and have many I'm looking forward to in 2016. Here's a list of the five I most want to read - enjoy!

Top Five Books I'm Looking Forward to in 2015 (in no particular order):

1) Half Lost by Sally Green - okay, after the ending of Half Wild, you can't blame me for wanting this book. Half Wild was one of my favourite books of 2015 (and probably one of my favourite books of all time) and I want to know how things end - I have no doubt it will be devastating and honestly, I am terrified. I am both extremely excited, and extremely nervous about this book. And Nathan and Gabriel - will they end up together? (SAY YES, SALLY GREEN.) Will one of them die? (SAY NO, SAY NO.) How am I supposed to wait? HOW? I know I said this list was in not order, but this probably is my most anticipated book of 2016. I just love this series that much.

2) Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard - can we just look at the tagline for a minute? "Kneel or bleed"? I just...Maven! Why! Why are these things happening! How could Red Queen end the way it did! What will Mare do? What will Cal do? Where is the romance going? Is theguywhoshallnotbenamed redeemable? Or will he spiral further on to the path of villainy? Why don't I already have a copy of this book? Why is life unfair? When will my questions be answered, damn it! I don't know how I've lasted so long, and I really don't know how much longer I can take it. I need this book! I have a feeling it's going to have another cliffhangery ending too, so who wants to take the bet that book three in this series is going to be on next year's list (and book four on the list after that!).

3) The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan - I think everyone was surprised when Rick Riordan announced a new series set in the Percy Jackson universe - about Apollo. The Trials of Apollo. Who has been made human by Zeus and cast down from Olympus. I was wary at first (it came out of nowhere!) - but then I read the first chapter, and it is hilarious. I can't wait for this book, I honestly can't. I think Apollo is going to make a fantastic main character, and Percy is in this book too, and he is my absolute favourite, and the interaction between them both is going to brilliant and oh my God, I am so happy this book is happening. Thank you, Rick. (I mean, as long as Percy doesn't die. Or Annabeth. Or Nico.)

4) Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare - okay, I wasn't a fan of City of Heavenly Fire. But, I did love being introduced to Emma and Julian and I'm really excited to follow up on their stories and find out how things have changed now they're a bit older! And to find out what's going on in the world of Shadowhunters (I still need to read the Shadowhunter Academy novellas as well - I know, I'm terrible). I know characters from previous series are going to pop up so looking forward to seeing that too. And it's Cassandra Clare, so it's probably going to be awesome and full of humour and drama and forbidden romance. Plus, look at that cover. Look at it! It's the best cover Cassandra Clare has had so far on any of her books.

5) A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas - still no cover for this one, so I'm using the US placeholder. I'm very very curious to find out what happens in this sequel. Mostly because I honestly have no idea. Usually I'm able to guess a few things but with Sarah J. Maas books, anything can happen. After the ending of book A Court of Thorns and Roses and the deal a certain person made with another certain person, I'm sure there's going to be some sort of conflict and this deal will play a big part in the events of book two. But apart from that, it's all a mystery. I'm wondering if this world will ever connect with the world of Throne of Glass too - it would definitely be interesting to see!

Notable mentions that didn't quite make the list: The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski (I was so torn between this and ACoMaF, but I went with the latter in the end), The Mirror King by Jodi Meadows, Tell the Wind and Fire by Sarah Rees Brennan (this was in last year's post too - the release date got pushed back), Untitled Throne of Glass #5 (this would be on the actual list if it had a title!), Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton, The Song Rising by Samantha Shannon, Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo and The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan.

And there you have it! Which books are you looking forward to in 2016? Any from my list? And, last of all, have a very happy new year, everyone!

(P.S. If you want to see what I got for Christmas, I posted some photos on my Tumblr here! Mostly for my own records so I can remember everything, but hey, I always enjoy looking through what other people got, so if you're as nosy as I am, have a look).

2015 In Review: Music

tháng 12 29, 2015 playlist No comments

I bought 220 new songs this year (way more than last year) including 4 albums, Every Open Eye/Chvrches, Beneath the Skin/Of Monsters and Men, Song Spells #1/Sea Wolf, Art Angels/Grimes

2015 songs on heavy rotation (* indicates top 5)

*Flesh Without Blood - Grimes

*Leave a Trace - Chvrches

*Happy - Marina and the Diamonds
*True Confessions - Blondfire
*Breaker - Deerhunter

The Shade - Metric

Lightning Strike - A Silent Film

Grey Days - Chelsea Wolfe

1998 - Chet Faker feat. Banks

Trip Switch - Nothing but Thieves

I of the Storm - Of Monsters and Men

Body Talk - Foxes

Hiding - Florence and the Machine

High - Zella Day

Step Brother City - Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin

Strange Hellos - TORRES

Greek Tragedy - The Wombats

Little Wanderer - Death Cab for Cutie

Begin Again - Purity Ring

The Labyrinth Song - Asaf Avidan

White Lies - Milo Greene

A Beginning Song - The Decemberists

My Least Favorite Life - Lera Lynn

Empty Gold - Halsey

Blame it on Me - George Ezra
Anything - TOPS
Too Late to Say Goodbye - Cage the Elephant
Water Slides - Mew
Molecules - Atlas Genius
I Feel It - Avid Dancer

Favorite finds from previous years (* indicates top 5)

*Algiers - The Afghan Whigs (2014)

Cecilia and the Satellite - Andrew McMahon (2014)

*Black Soap - Ex Cops (2014)
Go - Grimes (2014)

*Lover - In the Valley Below (2014)

Black Mambo - Glass Animals (2014)

* Lover, Where Do You Live? - Highasakite (2014)

Zigzagging Toward the Light - Conor Oberst (2014)

Lust and Lies - The Ramona Flowers (2013)

*Teen Idle - Marina and the Diamonds (2012)
Sun - Two Door Cinema Club (2012)
Hold On - Alabama Shakes (2012)

My Secret Friend - IAMX (2010)
Christmas Won't Be the Same Without You - Plain White Ts (2009)

I Don't Believe You - The Magnetic Fields (2004)
August - Rilo Kiley (2001)

Live Music in 2015

+ Alt J with Wolf Alice (Feb 7) in Offenbach, Germany

+ Rachael Yamagata (Feb 20) in Frankfurt, Germany

+ Sea Wolf (May 21) in Frankfurt, Germany

+ Of Monsters and Men with Highasakite (July 1) in Frankfurt, Germany

+ Death Cab for Cutie with Twin Shadow (Sept 19) in Columbus, Ohio

+ Landmark Festival in DC (Sept 27) with Chvrches, George Ezra, TV on the Radio, Lord Huron, Houndmouth, In the Valley Below

+ Deerhunter (December 17) in Columbus, Ohio

I'd love to hear about your favorite music of the year - share with me!!

Top Five Favourite Books and Top Five Least Favourite Books Read in 2015

tháng 12 26, 2015 favourites, least favourites, top five No comments

Once again, it's almost the end of the year (2015 just flew by, didn't it), so I thought I'd do a post of my favourite and least favourite books. They'll be books I read in 2015, regardless of release date - please let me know your favourite/worst books of 2015 too!

And just to keep you updated on future plans for this blog, I might not be able to post as often now as I've managed to get myself a job (well, subject to references, but assuming my uni professor didn't hate me with the fire of thousand suns, hopefully everything will be okay!) but I won't be abandoning my blog, so I'll still be around.

Anyway, getting back to the books, here are my lists!

Top Five Favourite Books Read in 2015 (in no particular order):

1) Half Wild by Sally Green - oh this book. I still don't have words. I mean, it was just so good. You know when you finish a book and you actually just don't know what to do with yourself afterwards? This was one of those books. I mean, I gave it five stars, so you know I must have been impressed by it, because I don't give out five stars lightly. If you haven't started this trilogy yet, get on that. Seriously.

2) The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss - so here's a story: I got this book In February, maybe? Or possible even before (I have a memory like a sieve) and it was sitting on my shelf for months until I picked it up earlier this month. And oh my. Why did I wait so long to read it? Why did past me not also buy the sequel so I could read it immediately after? Ugh! I still don't have a copy, that's going to be the next thing I buy. I now understand why so many people love this book.

3) Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas - I doubt this surprises anyone. This series is amazing. And the characters! The CHARACTERS! Rowan and Aelin and Aedion and Dorian and Lysandra - I just. I love them all so much. Even Manon grew on me in this book! And Chaol is all right too, I suppose. I cannot wait for book five, I really, really can't. Who knows what's going to happen at this point? I certainly don't. Sarah J. Maas, you hold so much power.

4) Carry On by Rainbow Rowell - okay so I loved Fangirl so, so much and I honestly didn't think Rainbow Rowell would ever be able to top it but she somehow did because Carry On was fantastic! I was just so absorbed in the world and I didn't want it to end and Simon and Baz! I loved them both, but Baz especially, he was my favourite. And this is one of those books that I know I will reread again (because I already reread it like, two days after the first time I finished it) - it has that comforting sort of feeling, you know?

5) Beyond the Red by Ava Jae - so this isn't out 'til March, but what a book! It surprised me, I didn't expect it to be so good, but it really was and I'm so glad I had the chance to read it! It's a sci-fi with fab characters, an amazing romance and great world-building - I'll post my review in February, so if you're interested, look out for it! And definitely keep your eyes peeled for this book in 2016 - it really is excellent.

Notable mentions that didn't quite make the list: End of Days by Susan Ee, The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows, Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas, The Betrayal of Renegade X by Chelsea M. Campbell, Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan and Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff.

Top Five Least Favourite Books Read in 2014 (in no particular order):

1) The Predicteds by Christine Seifert - that I even manage to finish this book, even after skimming the last 100 pages, shocks me. It was truly, truly awful - the characters were ridiculous, the plot was ridiculous and I have nothing good to say about it. I recommend reading my Goodreads status updates if you want to know why I disliked it so much (see here), but I'm not even going to waste anymore time talking about it.

2) The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 1: The Faust Act - you might have read my review of this and if so, you will know I have absolutely no idea why the The Wicked + The Divine is so popular. While the art was admittedly very good, the story was a joke. The main character was obsessed with these random people she didn't know - it was so unhealthy, and the story didn't make sense and ugh. It was just terrible.

3) The Bell Between Worlds by Ian Johnstone - now this was disappointing because I really thought it would be good. I'd seen people rave about it, but it was a struggle to get through! It was way too descriptive with too many sentences starting with "he did this" and "he did that". It got so boring in parts that I would actually just skip three pages and it would have no effect on my understanding of the story because they were three pages of pointless description. The story was fairly interesting at times (when we actually got to read about the story and not the various fragrances smoke could give off). But there was a lack of character development, and just so many other problems and it took too long for anything to happen. Another book I had to skim to finish.

4) Until We Meet Again by Renee Collins - two words: nonsensical cheesefest. This book was so cheesy and sappy and paradoxical. I really did not like either of the main characters, and the story was based on a time travel concept that was confusing and full of holes! It honestly didn't make sense, and contradicted itself in the end, and the whole "murder mystery" part was not mysterious in the slightest. Perhaps I should have expected this, with a title like "Until We Meet Again"...

5) The Jewel by Amy Ewing - this could have been good. It really could have. The premise was pretty decent and I really think it had potential! But instead we were left with a bland main character who I couldn't care less about by the end of the book and an insta-lovey mess that made me want to facepalm and an ending that was supposed to entice me to read the next book, but instead just made me glad the whole thing was over. WHY. I had hopes for this book, and I shouldn't have. I think that's what made it even more disappointing. It's such a shame, really.

And that is that! What were you favourite/least favourite books of the year? Do you agree with anything on my lists? I'm off to read a book I got for Christmas now - hopefully it'll be a good one!

Blog Design Update

tháng 12 24, 2015 ramblings No comments

You may have noticed that I have changed my blog design a bit. I haven't done anything fancy, like buy a predesigned template, or learn code, because I'm far too lazy and that would be completely out of character, but I felt like a change was needed, so I've tweaked a few things. I'm not sure I'm entirely happy with what I've ended up with though, so I would very much appreciate your thoughts. Do you like the new design? Or do you prefer the old one? I do have a backup of my old template, so I could restore that design if this new one doesn't work out. I am already tempted, but that could just be my aversion to change. Not quite sure what to do yet, so please let me know what you think!

(And reviews are coming, honestly. I want to do a favourite books of 2015 post as well. And maybe what I got for Christmas, if that interests anyone. We'll see.)

(Oh yeah, and Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Seasons Greetings!)

My Little Box December 2015 Review

tháng 12 21, 2015 beauty, my little box, non-bookish, ramblings No comments

While I do love this month's "My Little Magic Box", I think I could have loved it more. For one, it arrived late again, so that was a bit annoying. And while I really like most of the lifestyle items, I'm not that impressed with some of beauty products. I think I'm feeling like this mostly because I've seen lots of other people's boxes and have preferred their variations to my own (the perfume! I wanted the perfume!). Overall though, this is still a great box (probably one of my favourites of the year, and a great one to end 2015 on) - here are my thoughts!

The design of this month's box is cute, I like all the sparklers and the lit up Eiffel Tower! It's not very magic-y though, they could have added some wands or potion bottles or something like that - but that's just me being picky! I'm happy with it in general.

The card is very similar to the box design, and simply says "this box is magical". Not much else to say really. (Though yay for the return of the proper magazine [see below] - I really did not like the weird fold out magazine/poster/booklet thing. The normal magazine is much better.)

My thoughts on each individual product:

Rituals Touch of Happiness Body Cream - noooo, not another body cream! I've had so many body creams! I don't even like the smell of this one! I mean, it smells okay (orange and cedar wood), but I personally wouldn't wear it. I'll probably give it to a family member. I suppose it's not a bad body cream, really, I'm just disappointed. I would have much preferred a perfume.

Too Faced Melted Liquified Long Wear Lipstick - I got this in the shade "melted fuchsia", and to be honest, at first, I thought it would look horrible. But I put a thin layer on and it's actually a really nice colour! As long as I don't cake too much on, it looks decent, so I'm pretty happy with this. It's a nice formula too, not too drying, and it doesn't crack as much as other liquid lipsticks. It's not long wearing really though - as soon as I had lunch, it was gone, but I think it's a great product overall. I might try out some of the other colours too at some point.

My Little Beauty Vice-Versa Nail Polish Duo - I LOVE these. Both of these nail polishes are so pretty! The blue is such a nice dark colour that's slightly iridescent, and the gold glitter is lovely and festive! Combined, these two would look amazing. Haven't tried them out on all my nails yet (I did a quick test for both and they seem like good nail polishes), so I can't wait to do a blue and gold glittery look for Christmas.

[EDIT: I've now tested the nail polishes properly, and they are so so gorgeous! They look really lovely on (I put the gold glitter on top of the blue base layer) and I'm very happy with them. I will say they do chip very easily, however (and I even bothered to put a top coat on this time), so that's a shame, but the end look is pretty while it lasts!]

Imperial Label Blend Kusmi Tea - yeah, no. I can see some people loving this, but I really don't like teas with flavours like orange and vanilla in them. The only teas I drink are regular, green, and maybe a chamomile once in a while. The tin is very cute though so I am tempted to keep this anyway.

My Little Box Heat Retaining Mittens - what a great item! These mittens are blue and gold, matching the nail polishes, and really do keep your hands nice and toasty! I like how you can wear them fingerless, or you can unhook the mitten part to cover your fingers - very practical! Really happy with these.

My Little Beauty/Box (the card is not explanatory!) Makeup Bag - this has got to be my favourite item in the box this month. It's so beautiful. I've been wanting a little make up pouch like this that's not too bulky to carry in my bag when I'm out, so as well as being very pretty, it's actually a really useful item! It's just the right size for me too, and I love that it's blue and gold again! Ahh I just love it.

That's my review of this month's box! What did you think? Did you prefer any other beauty boxes over this one for December?

Review: Bookishly Ever After by Isabel Bandeira

tháng 12 20, 2015 review No comments

Bookishly Ever After (Ever After #1) by Isabel Bandeira
Publisher: Spencer Hill Contemporary
Released: January 12th 2016
My Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5
Find it on Goodreads

In a perfect world, sixteen-year-old Phoebe Martins’ life would be a book. Preferably one filled with magic and a hot paranormal love interest. Unfortunately, her life probably wouldn’t even qualify for a quiet contemporary.

Everything changes when Phoebe learns that Dev, the hottest guy in the clarinet section, might actually have a crush on her. So, Phoebe turns to the heroines in her favorite books for advice on a personality overhaul. Becoming as awesome as her book characters isn’t as easy as it sounds and when another girl nets Dev for herself right from under Phoebe’s nose, she’s crushed.

Then, to up the suckage, she gets assigned as his co-counselor at a sixth grade camp and has to spend an entire week tied to the hip with the one guy on the planet she wanted to avoid. Can she make it through the potential danger of romantic bonfires and nature walks without Dev figuring out she’s still not over him, or will her counseling career end in emotional disaster? Can she ever go back to her happy world of fictional boys after falling for the real thing? (from Goodreads)

Ahh this book was so awkward. And embarrassing. And cringey. It meant well, it really did, and I do suppose I’m not the target audience (I feel so old saying that) but I just couldn’t really enjoy it when every ten minutes I had to take a break so I could prepare myself for whatever embarrassingly ridiculous thing was going to happen next.

Phoebe was just a painfully embarrassing character. In a lot of ways, I could relate to her (being bookish especially) but then she would go and do or say the most cringey thing and I wanted to hide! The second hand embarrassment was so intense. I get that was her character and she was awkward and stuck in her book world but it was so hard to read sometimes. And the level of cheesiness in this book - ugh. I mean this is really aimed at young teens, or not yet teens, because anyone a bit older like me will just end up rolling their eyes half the time. Particularly in the parts where Phoebe’s immaturity/naivety took over a bit and she jumped to obviously wrong conclusions. Or whenever she said she had an idea - I groaned at those parts, because I didn’t even want to know what ridiculously embarrassing thing she was about to do. Phoebe had her moments though - one of my favourite scenes was her rant about characters in books always having perfect vision - it’s so true! I can’t think of any other main character who wears glasses or contacts off the top of my head except Harry Potter. Without my glasses, I’m practically blind and would die in any survival situation - and it really gets to me that all these characters in books have perfect vision. It’s so unrealistic. I mean, chances are, in a room full of people, a good portion of them will be wearing glasses or contacts. So take note, authors!

I wasn’t a huge fan of Dev, the love interest, but he did grow on me throughout the book. I think what put me off him was that flash mob at the beginning. Really? A flash mob? Ugh. Things like that get so outdated by the time a book is published, you’re better of not including it at all. I also didn’t like that scene where he acted like Phoebe’s boyfriend to get her out of a situation - could he really not come up with any better idea? He was supposed to be this amazingly creative actor! Anyway, he did seem nice and understood Phoebe and seemed to like her quirky habits so there was that. I just wasn’t really sold on why they liked each other and the relationship as a whole.

Plot-wise, the second half of this book was definitely better than the first. I really enjoyed most of the scenes at camp, and I loved the campers Phoebe was in charge of! They were so interfering, it was hilarious. The writing itself was actually also pretty good (the extracts of some of the books Phoebe was reading were interesting - at times, I wish I could be reading those instead of reading about Phoebe!).

Overall, this was a okay book. It was too cringey and cheesy for me (though I am particularly sensitive to second hand embarrassment), but a younger person might find it sweet so I don’t know. Maybe read an extract before deciding whether to pick it up or not!

Book Talk: Spoils by Tammar Stein

tháng 12 14, 2015 No comments

It's not too often I come across a character in a novel named Lenore, so this was a nice surprise. I asked Tammar how she came up with the name, and this is what she said:

About Lenore...Well, it's a gorgeous name, of course. You know this already. My main character's names always pop into my mind rather mysteriously. I never have to sit and think about it. It's usually names that kind of surprise me, never the name of someone I know with that name. With Leni, I just knew it was Leni. And then I thought, who names their kid Leni? It's probably a nickname...and it went from there. I liked the thought of her taking ownership of her name, changing it to something she felt comfortable with. I feel like Lenore is a name you have to grow into (though I suppose you would know better than I would.) Maybe a young person wouldn't feel comfortable with such a majestic name. I bet by the time Leni finished college, she'll reclaim her full name.

Interesting! Lenore is indeed a pretty majestic name, though I suppose I grew into it early.

So - the book itself. Lenore is the youngest daughter of a family who won the lottery and then spent the money wildly over the years until there's nothing left. Lenore's parents expect her to give up her part of the money when she turns 18 (it has been in a trust) to keep them afloat, and she is ready to do this until her older sister confesses that the money is dirty and that whatever Lenore does, she needs to get rid of it completely.

So that's the mystery - what's wrong with the money? Turns out, a lot. Lenore is visited by an angel who also warns her to get rid of it - and she only has a week until her birthday to figure out what to with it.

The novel explores the idea of the universe having checks and balances on good and evil - when evil is thwarted by good, it seeks out weaker targets.

I really enjoyed this one! Find out more at Tammar's website.

Review: This Raging Light by Estelle Laure

tháng 12 10, 2015 review No comments

This Raging Light by Estelle Laure
Publisher: Orchard Books
Released: January 14th 2015
My Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5
Find it on Goodreads

How is it that you suddenly notice a person? How is it that one day Digby was my best friend's admittedly cute twin brother, and then the next he stole air, gave jitters, twisted my insides up?

Lucille has bigger problems than falling for her best friend's unavailable brother. Her mom has gone, leaving her to look after her sister, Wren. With bills mounting up and appearances to keep, Lucille is raging against her life but holding it together - just.

A stunning debut to devour in one sitting, Laure captures completely the agony and ecstasy of first love. (from Goodreads)

You know when a book just grips you? The kind where you say “just one more chapter” but really you know you’re going to keep reading until you’re done? This is one of those books. Before this I was reading something I literally had to force myself to finish - but with This Raging Light, I didn’t need to make an effort, I just kept turning the pages. It was very engrossing, and while I wouldn’t say I absolutely loved it, I really, really liked it and I’m really hoping that Estelle Laure is going to write a sequel!

Lucille, our main character, was struggling to cope. Her mum was supposed to be home by now, but she was nowhere to be found. She wasn’t picking up the phone, the money she had left to cover a month’s worth of bills had run out, and Lucille was stuck caring for her little sister Wren all by herself, with no money and no job and no-one to help her. It was enough to make anyone panic, and while I really think Lucille should have told someone what was going on, I could understand why she didn’t. She was trying so hard to keep what was left of her family together - she got herself a job after her mum’s money had run out, she reorganised her schedule, she took her sister to school and kept up with her own school work. Not a lot of people could have done what she did. But at the same time, she was feeling hopeless, feeling stressed and also feeling abandoned, wondering why her mother couldn’t even be bothered to contact her. She was going through a lot, and I felt that her thoughts and feelings were portrayed really well. There was one line I really liked about Lucille feeling like her life was “a glitch in the Matrix” - I thought that was really well put. I also really liked the way Lucille’s relationship with her sister was written. It felt very realistic and the dynamic between them was great - they were close but their relationship was strained at times because of everything that was happening, and I just really loved reading about them.

Eden was Lucille’s best friend, and Digby was Eden’s twin brother, and I had mixed feelings about both these characters. With Eden, I feel like at the start, she really did try to support Lucille the best she could. But at the same time, she had her own life, and her own goals (ballet being one of them - that scene where Lucille described how messed up Eden’s feet were due to her ballet honestly made me feel a bit sick - ugh), and she didn’t want to give everything up. I understood that, but I felt she was also a bit harsh at times (though so was Eden). She was definitely an interesting character though, and one of the main reasons I want a sequel is so I can find out what happens next with her! Digby…I’m so conflicted. We kept hearing Eden say how much of a nice guy he was, how supportive he was, how understanding he was - and while at times he really was all those things, I felt Lucille kept repeating this stuff to detract from his behaviour at other times, when he was being a bit of an idiot. And ultimately, he did some things that would be hard to forgive. So I don’t know how to feel about him. He definitely did help Lucille a lot during this difficult period but I’d need to find out a bit more about him to fully make up my mind - so I really hope there's sequel! (I’m pretty sure there’s going to be a sequel. Estelle Laure has a book called “These Mighty Forces” coming out in 2017 - that’s got to be a sequel, or at least a companion novel, right?)

Plot-wise, as I said previously, I was pretty much hooked from the few pages. I really wanted to know how Lucille would cope with all the new problems thrown at her, and there was so much I didn’t expect to happen. The pacing was brilliant because there was a build up of wondering how things were going to turn out in the end - and it ended like THAT and ugh. Seriously. I need a sequel. I'm just working off the assumption that there's going to be one.

Overall, this was a really great contemp, one with a lot of feeling, that addressed a lot of difficult issues, and I think everyone should give it a go, even if you’re not the biggest contemp fan.

First Draft Pod!

tháng 12 08, 2015 industry interview No comments

This summer, the fabulous Sarah Enni was in Paris and asked me and Amy Plum to be guests on her podcast series called First Draft in which she interviews writers about books and life. The episode is now live (we discuss travel and how writing letters and blogging got us into publishing) and I'm excited to go back and listen to the other 59 episodes.

Bookish Gift Guide

tháng 12 07, 2015 bookish, gift guide, ramblings No comments

Reviews are coming, I promise! I've just been busy with job applications recently, and visiting a friend in Cambridge and family stuff - but there will be reviews. Hopefully one will be up soon, but in the mean time, I thought I would do a bookish gift guide since Christmas is coming up and lot of people will be looking for present ideas. I'm not sponsored by any of the companies/websites I'm mentioning (haha, I wish), these are just things I think would make really great gifts for book lovers! I've already talked about The Beautiful Book Company for bookish gifts in a previous blog post here so I won't mention them again, but I do recommend checking them out! And on we go (all images link to a page where you can purchase the item, and all prices are correct at the time of posting, though may change at a later date, and exclude shipping costs. Also, I know the layout of this post is horrendous, but I am not tech savvy enough to fix it).

£5 or under (click on the image to be taken to the seller's page):