Book Review: The Heartbreakers by Ali Novak*

Book Review: The Heartbreakers by Ali Novak*

Thursday 30 July 2015

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This week I was fortunate enough tor receive an ARC of “The Heartbreakers” by Ali Novak and it took just a few pages for me to realise that I was going to love the book and the author. I don’t know how I’m going to get through this review and give the book the justice it deserves without using a ridiculous amount of expletives, but I’ll give it my best shot.

The first thing I want to say here is: UK paperback release, 31st August. Buy it. 

You will not be disappointed.

The premise of the story is pretty simple; a girl, Stella, one of a set of triplets, meets a boy while on a coffee run with her brother. She later discovers that he is Oliver Perry, the lead singer of her sister, cancer sufferer Cara’s favourite band, and, along with her brother, spends one carefree night with the band. She sends some photographs that she takes that evening to Alec, one of the band members and he in turn shows them to their publicist. Stella is then offered the opportunity of a lifetime running an online blog of photographs of the band for fans to follow- as well as ultimately reuniting her with Oliver. From this point on, a romance blossoms and sparks fly between the pair. 

In short? Ali Novak is a genius. A hilarious, sob-inducing genius. I love a good old clichéd chick-flick where boy meets girl and everyone lives happily ever after and this was definitely that. I loved how the author described the relationship between the three siblings, the relationship between the members of the band and I particularly loved the kindness that Alec showed Stella throughout the novel. It’s definitely a book that’s lighthearted, entertaining and not to be taken completely seriously- who on earth is going to meet a world famous rock star and have him fall head over heels in love with them? Not me, that’s for sure! But that is definitely part of the book’s charm- these events that seem all so unrealistic are all the more attractive. Additionally, I sobbed like a wee baby at the email from a viewer of her photography portfolio, as that particularly hit close to home for me. 

This is definitely the book to turn to if you’ve had a horrendous day- it’s cute, easy going, hilarious and just an all-round enjoyable read. If you like Rainbow Rowell and Stephanie Perkins, you’ll love this! 

4.5/5

Wishlist: NARS Cosmetics

Wishlist: NARS Cosmetics

Wednesday 29 July 2015

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I’ve never purchased a product from NARS before but I’ve been eyeing up a few bits and bobs which I’m going to ask family members to pick up for me for my birthday! I’ve chosen 3 different products which I’ve heard quite a lot about so hopefully they’re as good as everyone makes out! 

The first product that I chose is the NARS Contour Kit in the shade Olympia. I love the look of this little kit and the colour seems to go with my skin tone. I’ve heard that it’s a pretty good product from other bloggers so I’m hoping that it blends well and looks natural on me. 

I then chose one of NARS’ most renowned product, their Powder Blush in the colour Orgasm. I almost bought this for myself a few months back but I persuaded myself against it but I still want it months later so I think I’ll get it this time around. 

Finally, I chose a Pure Matte Lipstick in the shade Terre de Feu, which I love the look of. I love trying out different brands of lipstick and this one is very different from the colours I already own so I think it’ll definitely fill a gap in my collection! 

Which NARS products do you love and recommend?? Let me know in the comments! 

Book Review: The Secrets We Keep by Stephanie Butland*

Book Review: The Secrets We Keep by Stephanie Butland*

Monday 27 July 2015

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(Also published as "Letters to my Husband" and "Surrounded by Water.") 

I want to start off by saying that my rating of this book does not, by any means, mean that I didn’t enjoy it as much as the books I’ve read over the past few weeks. I’ve thought long and hard about how I was going to go about reviewing this book, because I both loved and was disappointed by it for different reasons.

The story has an incredibly interesting premise and I was immediately drawn to the description when I came across it on Netgalley. I knew enough about the novel from glancing at other reviews to know that it wasn’t going to be a happy-go-lucky kind of novel, but that’s absolutely fine with me- the more tragic the better, I’d say. We are introduced to Elizabeth, the protagonist of the novel, whose husband, Michael, has drowned whilst trying to save a young girl, Kate. The story focuses on Elizabeth and Michael’s relationship before and after the tragic events have unfolded, but it is a lot more than that as well. It focuses on family and the strong ties that lie within family bases. It focuses on secrets and betrayal and how, more often than not, there is more to someone than meets the eye. The story addresses loss, longing and the realisation that sometimes you have to just give up and move on with your life. 

I enjoyed the prose, I enjoyed the writing style and I loved the characters. I loved to hate certain characters, while others I adored from the start. All of the characters were believable. I found it gut-wrenching and heartbreaking in some places, and ironic and cruel in others. Elizabeth’s grief is explored in such a way I have never read before and it was tormentingly beautiful to read. I enjoyed how her grief turned, through letters, from heartbreaking to bitter to doubtful and then to pure resentment and anger, before returning back to the beautiful heartbreaking full of grief letter that had dominated the first two-thirds of the book. 

Often the word “unputdownable” is used to describe books and there is not a word more suited to this book than that one. I have recently gotten out of my habit of staying up late to finish books, but I broke that trying to finish this one. It had me guessing to the very end, and unfortunately that’s where the disappointment kicks in a little bit. This is where I have difficulties in describing my thoughts, because I genuinely enjoyed the book. I even enjoyed the ending, to some extent. I just expected something massive to happen and that “something massive”, that twist that would have changed everything, just didn’t come, at least not in the way I hoped it would. In spite of this, I would recommend the book to friends and have thoroughly enjoyed reading it. 

3.5/5 

Instagram: A Month In the Life... /2/

Instagram: A Month In the Life... /2/

Sunday 26 July 2015

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This month has been a good one so far for a number of reasons, although I haven’t really gone mad taking photographs. 

It was my dad’s 50th birthday this last week gone and we went out for dinner and the races to celebrate, so naturally I posted a selfie. I wore a gorgeous loose glittery top from topshop tucked into a black skirt and I felt really good about myself. The second picture is a throwback to the beach in Strasbourg where I lived until recently. I really miss Strasbourg and can’t wait to go back at some point. 

I also went out for tea and cake with my friends in Manchester. We went to the cutest little café (which unfortunately the name of completely escapes me) and the food and drinks were fab. I’ll find out the name at some point and update this, but it was in the Northern quarter and had a red shopfront! I also went on a date (!!!) in Liverpool, and one of the things we did was have a wander around the Tate Modern Art museum on Albert Docks. It was very lovely and I love art and museums so it was a nice place to go to for me. 

The 5th and 7th pictures are from when I went to see Taylor Swift at the Manchester Arena. It was an amazing gig and I really am gutted that it’s passed because I would kill to see her over and over. The 6th is the selfie that I took before my aforementioned date, I was feeling moody but wanted to post a picture anyway! 

Finally, the last two pictures I took while sunbathing. I live next to the amazing house in the picture and regularly go down to the grounds to sunbathe and read. What have you gotten up to lately? Let me know in the comments!

Book Review: The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald*

Book Review: The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald*

Friday 24 July 2015

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I received this book as an ARC from Sourcebook Landmarks having never heard of neither it nor the author. It took me a month or so after publication to get around to reading it, because of other commitments mostly, and also due to a bit of a reading block, but now that I have I can honestly say that I wish I’d gotten around to it sooner. 

The story is about two women; one, Sara, who lives in Sweden and the other, Amy, who lives in the United States. Their differences are immense but they have one thing in common- they both love books and reading. This is the formation of their friendship and they send letters back and forth between one another, discussing books, town life and their own feelings. Sara is invited to visit Broken Wheel, the town where Amy lives, and when she arrives is faced with the horrific truth that Amy has died and that very day is her funeral. The story follows the relationships that Sara makes with the residents of Broken Wheel, the building of a community bookstore and a very risqué plan that could change Sara’s life forever. 

I absolutely loved everything about this book. I can’t believe that this is a debut novel, the prose is so sophisticated and natural and I found myself laughing, melting and felt all sorts of other emotions all the way to the very end. I loved that the letters that Amy sent to Sara were included throughout the novel, so we really got to get a feel of Amy’s personality and the reasons behind why she wanted Sara to visit her decrepit town so much. I love how Bivald touches on the harsh realities of racism in the states and how this affected the relationship between Amy and John, a black man who she truly loved. I found the comments that Caroline made about Christianity (and being unchristian) absolutely hilarious and I loved the idea of her reading gay erotica. It addressed all of these things respectfully, with humour and grace. I loved each and every one of the characters, found myself rooting for Sara and Tom from the first few pages but I have to say that George and his love for his daughter was something that I loved the most. 

This book honestly had it all and I recommend it to the masses, it has blown me away in all the right ways and I look forward to reading more by the author in the future. 

5/5.

Life: Friday Five

Life: Friday Five

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I’ve seen a few people do posts like this and I thought it was a wonderful idea! I’ve written my own questions for now, but I’ll probably take some inspiration off other bloggers over the coming weeks! 

FIVE THINGS I LOVE

1. Reading is probably my ultimate hobby. I have a ridiculous amount of books and I love going to bookstores to choose more (even when my “to-read” pile is already a mile high!) I spend a lot of my spare time engrossed in a good book. 
2. I also spend a lot of my time watching the beautiful game. I’m a proud fan of Burnley Football Club and while I can’t really get over to watch games at Turf Moor anymore, because of university and work commitments, I do my bit and go to away games when I can nearer to where I live. I will genuinely watch any football game that’s on television, regardless of the team, league or country, and I can spend hours chatting to people about it as well. 
3. I’m a bit of a makeup lover and while I don’t have all that much in terms of blush and face products, the amount of lipsticks, glosses, mascaras and nail varnishes that I own is getting ridiculously out of hand. I am an absolutely MAC obsessed and the thought of their lipsticks gives me little happy feels. I’m also a huge fan of the YSL lipstick ranges as their formulas are on another level.
4. I’m way too into the Disney franchise. I love all of their movies, buy the memorabilia (fun fact: I spent around 100 euros in the Champs Élysées Disney store when I was in Paris in May on Aristocats stuff alone.) My favourite Disney movies are definitely the Hunchback of Notre Dame and (unsurprisingly) The Aristocats. I’ve been receiving copies of the DVDs off the same Aunt for years as I wanted to build up the collection for my own future children in advance.
5. I love cats, kittens and all things feline. I don’t own my own cat unfortunately but I’ll definitely be getting myself a fluffy kitty at some point in the next few years.

FIVE THINGS I HATE 

1. People who take everything for granted I’ve been brought up to be taught just how lucky I am to live the life I do, and it frustrates me watching people around me who don’t appreciate what and who they have in their life. 
2. People who borrow my books and return them dog eared This is an absolute pet peeve of mine. I like to keep my books in pristine condition. With the exception of the few books I picked up in charity stores, all of my books are perfect- no bent pages, no cracked spine, no ruined covers. It drives me crazy when people borrow my books and don’t return them in the condition that they were in when they got them. It’s all about respect, people
3. Snakes They really, really, really creep me out. I don’t think this requires all that much of an explanation really.
4. Messiness I absolutely can’t stand mess. My room is a bit of a mess at the moment as I’m in the middle of packing things up to go to my new house and the state of it is driving me insane- it’s not even all that bad, just a few boxes on the floor and piles of clothes that need packing in a case on my desk, but it makes me feel very untidy. I can’t wait until everything’s packed up and then unpacked in my new house so I can make everything pretty again!
5. Negativity I’m constantly trying to be more positive about myself and things around me, but it’s very difficult when you’re surrounded by people who are constantly negative. I cannot stand the negative Nellies of this world and thing we’d be in a much better place if people looked at the positives rather than focusing on the negatives. 

FIVE DREAMS I HAVE 

1. Go to America and visit New York, Chicago, San Francisco and California. 
2. Qualify as a Primary School teacher.
3. Write a novel (definitely a work in progress.)
4. Get married and have children.
5. Complete the Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge (this is definitely more of a dream than a reality!)

FIVE BOOKS I ADORE

I’m not going to give explanations here because I don’t want to ruin the plots of these books, but I recommend that you read all of them- they are beautiful masterpieces that should be appreciated by the masses.

1. Flowers for Algernon- Daniel Keyes
2. Just Listen - Sarah Dessen
3. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
4. Notre Dame de Paris - Victor Hugo
5. Thérèse Raquin - Emile Zola

FIVE BLOGS I READ RELIGIOUSLY

1. Daisy @ http://daisies-and-delights.blogspot.co.uk
2. Holly Rhian @ http://www.itshollyrhian.blogspot.co.uk
3. Nicole @ http://l00nylovegood.blogspot.co.uk
4. Kat @ http://www.talesofapaleface.com
5. Lily @ http://www.pintsizedbeauty.com

Review: Millie Marotta's Animal Kingdom Adult Colouring Book

Review: Millie Marotta's Animal Kingdom Adult Colouring Book

Thursday 23 July 2015

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I’ve seen a lot of these lovely colouring books around and wanted to buy one for quite a while. I managed to pick this beautiful one by Millie Marotta up on amazon for £4, and I absolutely love it! 

The designs are very intricate and fiddly and I thought that I’d get really frustrated by this because I am an absolute perfectionist, but that’s really not the case. It’s actually really relaxing and I’m enjoying taking my time colouring it in and choosing all the colours. Much to my glee, there’s a tortoise design to do where you can draw patterns on the shell so I’m very excited to get artistic on that one- tortoises are my absolute favourite animals in the world (I’m even planning on getting a little tortoise tattoo very soon!) 

In terms of value for money, I think the retail price is actually quite reasonable. At first I was a little skeptical, because £10 for a colouring book is pretty steep, but the amount of pictures in the book and the detail of the drawings themselves definitely justify the price. When you’ve finished colouring them in you could definitely frame them and display them around the house- they are just that beautiful! 

Have you tried any adult colouring books out? Do you like them? Let me know in the comments! 

Life: A Day at Ripon Races

Life: A Day at Ripon Races

Tuesday 21 July 2015

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It was my dad’s 50th birthday this weekend just gone and we had a lovely family day out at Ripon races in Yorkshire. My dad’s really into horses so this was the perfect thing to treat him to and we had a lovely day out together, especially since I don’t actually like with them and my brother’s just about to head off to university himself.

We set off early in the morning and had a lovely picnic lunch in the sunshine which was absolutely lovely. The races themselves didn’t start until the afternoon, at 2pm, so we had chance to chill out and catch up as a family which was also really lovely. I put on my first ever horse racing bets and we watched all the races. I got VERY into it towards the end when one of my horses won and I didn’t spend a lot of money considering what an amazing day we had! I would definitely recommend this type of day out as a family, especially since it was a flats race so the horses couldn’t fall. I know for a fact I’d HATE that so this made me feel a lot better about it all! 

Have you done anything nice as a family recently? 

Book Review: Saint Anything- Sarah Dessen

Book Review: Saint Anything- Sarah Dessen

Sunday 19 July 2015

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I’ve been reading Sarah Dessen’s novels for longer than I can remember. I’ve read each and every one of them, own a number of them in a number of languages and I will always have a soft spot for everything she writes. This is quite a late review, considering I read Saint Anything the day after it was released on 5th May, but I really wanted to review this one, especially since I loved it so much. 

I read a lot of YA novels and a lot of contemporary fiction as well, so I have particularly high expectations as far as these categories are concerned. I must admit I’m ridiculously biased as far as Sarah Dessen is concerned because she is everything I aspire to be as a writer and as a human being, but I’m happy to report that once again her book has not disappointed.

In brief, Sydney, the protagonist, has lived most of her life following in the footsteps of her reckless (but perfect) older brother, Peyton. A terrible accident occurs and Peyton is imprisoned, leaving Sydney to pick up the pieces at home, all while trying to get through high school. Her brother’s recklessness has significantly restricted her own life and her friendships have ultimately suffered as a result. When she meets the Chatham family, her life starts tor return to the normality she has always craved and from there onwards everything starts to look up. I’m going to stop with my explanation of the novel here as I really don’t want to spoil it, but in true Sarah Dessen style there is romance, philosophy and a whole lot of junk food cravings (this time; pizza and fries.) 

Sarah Dessen is arguably one of the Queens of teen romance. She knows how to tell a story in the most subtle and moving ways, turning friendship into relationships with ease. I love how she manages to tie all of her novels together in subtle ways (with Mac introduced wearing an Anger Management radio station t-shirt à la Owen from my ultimate Dessen novel Just Listen). I love how easily she allows you to connect with the characters, and here it is particularly easy to find something in common with one of them, whether it be Sydney herself, or Lola with her boyfriend problems. I also love that she discusses and focuses on the importance of suffering consequences, as well as the idea that a parent will love their child no matter what! 

I thoroughly recommend this book and if you haven’t already, and I also recommend reading the rest of Sarah’s collection. She's an asset to the YA genre and I am proud to have her on my shelves. 

5/5. 

Haul: MAC Cosmetics

Haul: MAC Cosmetics

Friday 17 July 2015

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I recently treated myself to a few items from MAC cosmetics. I had to seriously fight the urge of spending the remainder of my wage on lipsticks but I managed to resist and only chose two things, both of which I actually needed. 

I mentioned a few months ago that I lost my makeup bag whilst at a train station in Lyon and I’ve been slowly but surely replacing what was inside it. I managed to replace everything bar my primer, and I found that my makeup has been slipping very quickly recently, especially with the lovely weather that we’ve been having. I was using a Sephora primer but obviously we don’t have a Sephora in the UK so I decided to turn to the ever so trusty MAC. I decided to go with the Prep + Prime Fix + priming mist and I absolutely love the product. It’s MUCH better than the primer I was using before, adds moisture to my skin without making it greasy and my makeup lasts a lot longer than it did before. I’ve been using it for around 3 weeks now and it’s fantastic, it seems to be lasting really well and as an added bonus, the bottle is quite large. It costs £17 for 100ml which isn’t bad at all, I’m very happy with this. 

The other item that I treated myself to was a lip liner, in the colour Soar. I wanted something that I could wear with my Velvet Teddy lipstick and I think that this liner goes beautifully with it. It’s a very creamy formula which I love, as my lips can get quite dry around the edges. Application is very easy and it goes on without any issues. I tend to lick my lips but I’ve noticed that it stays on quite well in spite of this. I’ve never really bought any lip liners from MAC before but I definitely will be going back for some more in future. 

What have you treated yourself to from MAC recently? What should I purchase on my next trip to one of their counters? Let me know in the comments! 

Favourites: Lipsticks #1

Favourites: Lipsticks #1

Monday 13 July 2015

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I’m a bit of a lipstick hoarder but like anyone, I definitely have my favourites which I always go running back to. I thought that today I’d blog about my 4 favourite lipstick products and show some pictures of how gorgeous they look on the lips. 

During the day I tend to go for more natural colours so MAC’s Velvet Teddy is absolutely perfect for every day use. It’s an absolutely gorgeous colour, a pinky beige, and I really do think that it would suit anybody with any skin tone, it’s just so versatile. It has a matte formula but it’s not particularly drying on the lips which for me is good, because my lips dry out really easily. It stays on pretty well but I do find that I have to reapply it after a few hours- absolutely no problem at all. I really do love it and I’m dreading it running out because I know there’re stock issues in the UK (as in, it’s NEVER in stock anywhere). 

Another of my MAC favourites is Vegas Volt, which is a coral coloured product. I tend to dress quite plainly, in the sense that I love black and white and tend to jazz myself up with a dash of bright lipstick. Vegas Volt is perfect for that and the creamy finish is gorgeous. It’s something a bit different but at the same time it’s not too far out of my comfort zone! Definitely a classic colour that would suit any collection. 

I absolutely love the colour of this Rimmel Kate Moss lipstick that I picked up the other week. It seems to match with absolutely anything I’m wearing! It’s a beautiful bright and bold shade and it gives me the confidence that I need on a night out with friends.

My final shade is my favourite ever lipstick and I doubt that this will change anytime soon. I uhm-ed and ahh-ed over investing in YSL makeup for a long time, mostly because the cost is quite high. I received a bonus from work (ironically from work in a makeup department store) so I thought I’d treat myself with the Feel Unique 20% off discount that they sometimes offer (I posted about that HERE). This lippy leaves my lips feeling softer than they’ve ever felt before and it keeps them nourished and soft the entire time I’m wearing it. The colour is divine and suits me to a tee. I honestly can’t rave about this lipstick enough and I can’t wait to have an excuse to invest in a few more. 

Life: Strasbourg in Images

Life: Strasbourg in Images

Tuesday 7 July 2015

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As many of you guys will be aware, until recently I lived in the beautiful city of Strasbourg in France. I'm taking a wee break from "blogging" for personal reasons but I still wanted to be uploading little bits and bobs for people to have a look at. I thought I'd share some pictures of the beautiful city of Strasbourg in the meantime. 

I really miss my beautiful home there but I'm looking forward to another amazing year in Liverpool.

List: Summer Bucket List

List: Summer Bucket List

Friday 3 July 2015

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After leaving my posts in 2 schools in France, I’m now teaching French at a primary school here in England. The summer holidays start pretty soon (less than 3 weeks now!) so I thought I’d put together a little list of the ten things I want to achieve over the holidays before I go back to university. 

1. Visit 5 new places in the UK - I have a few places in mind in both England and Wales so I think this one is pretty achievable. (3/5 - Morecambe, Abersoch, Pwllheli)
2. Read a book a week. (3/10)
3. Go to gigs. There are SO many free gigs around Liverpool so I’m going to go to as many as I can this summer! (1 gig- Lauren Aquilina live in Liverpool)

4. Keep up to date with vocabulary and try and speak French at least once a day.

5. Take as many photographs as I can.

6. Start going to the gym to gain muscle mass.

7. Review as I read. 

8. Be more body confident and stop being such a pushover!! 

9, Go on date days! 

10. Have days where I just relax and do nothing! 
11. Finish watching Game of Thrones (30/50)

Are there any things you guys want to do in particular over summer? Let me know in the comments!