Goodreads: June Wrap Up

Goodreads: June Wrap Up

Thursday 30 June 2016

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I’ve had a pretty chilled out June and managed to get a fair amount of reading done over the course of the last month. Most of these books (in fact, I’m pretty sure it’ll be all of them!) will be reviewed over the course of the next fortnight so look out for my reviews in the coming weeks.

Last month I read and reviewed The Second Love of My Life by Victoria and I absolutely loved it. I got in touch with Victoria to find out when her other tale, The Summer I Met You, was going to be published as a paperback and learned that because it’s only a short story, it was only a kindle release. I quickly picked up a copy of it on amazon for 99p and got through it in a single sitting. It is only a tiny, little short story which is a bit of a shame because I’ve seriously gotten really attached to the characters in both of the stories. Hopefully, Victoria will write something else to keep us satisfied pretty soon. Hint, hint, if you’re reading! 

I then started The Rumour which I received a review copy of from the ever amazing team at Hodder Books. For me, this book was probably one of the easiest books I’ve ever read for the simple reason that I really needed an enjoyable, authentic and chick-lit style read to ease me into my more intensive holiday reading. I flew through it in about a day and a half, loved the entire novel and I’m really looking forward to reading a few more of Elin’s works in the future.

I set off on my holidays to Spain on the 19^th of this month, and I actually surprised myself by getting through a grand total of 5 books in the week that I was there. We spent a lot of time (code: basically the entire holiday) either sat by the pool or on the beach so there were optimum reading opportunities for me there. I started off my trip by finishing off Summerlong by Dea Bakopoulos, which I started just before I flew out to Spain. I absolutely LOVED this story and thought that it was an amazing summer read, so if you can get your hands on a copy of this book then I honestly really recommend it. Thanks to the guys at Little, Brown Book Group for my ARC. 

I then moved onto Wrecked by Maria Padian, courtesy of Algonquin Young Readers.  Again, I was absolutely overwhelmed by how much I enjoyed this book. It was a really tough topic to focus on and I think it was done really well and with the utmost care. Again, another one to check out if you want a quick (although not necessarily easy) read!

My third read of my trip was The Missing by C.L. Taylor. I’ve previously read and reviewed The Lie by the same author so buying a kindle edition of this one was a bit of a no brainer really. I can’t decide if I liked this one more than The Lie but I will say that I really enjoyed it and it kept me guessing for a while. I did kind of guess what was going on as I was reading but the finer details were ones which were a little bit less obvious and it made for a really good tale. I definitely recommend it.

At this point, I was both starting to get incredibly tanned (code: sunburnt) and I was running out of books to read at an alarming pace. I had another ARC, courtesy of Sourcebooks. This was one that I wasn’t sure on at first, mostly because the formatting of the e-book itself was a little bit confusing and clustered. I’m quite glad I looked past that though because The A to Z of You and Me by James Hannah was very enjoyable. It wasn’t something I’d normally pick out to read myself and I would have liked to have had a few more details revealed by the end of the story, but it was thoughtful and very unique in its approach none the less. Definitely one to look out for at the very least. Thanks to Sourcebooks for this review copy! 

In the last few days, I’ve started reading House Rules by Jodi Picoult. I’m about 300 pages into it but it’s INCREDIBLY long so it’s taking a little bit longer than I hoped it would! I’ll hopefully get that one finished in the coming days, though! In all, I read a grand total of 2291 pages in June, including what I've finished of House Rules! 

What are you reading at the moment?

Goodreads: My Top 5 Fave Books

Goodreads: My Top 5 Fave Books

Monday 27 June 2016

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I’ve been actively blogging about books for about a year now, and it suddenly struck me that I’m yet to share with everyone what my favourite books are. I found it pretty difficult to narrow it down to just five books, as I love so many different genres and authors. But, none-the-less, here are my top 5 favourite books at this moment in time!

My all-time favourite book will probably never change. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes is a beautiful, poignant and thought-provoking book and it’s always the first one I recommend when people ask me about my favourite books. I’ve converted a fair few people over to reading (and loving!) it over the last few years and I think that speaks volumes. It’s technically science fiction although I’d argue against this genre as it only touches on the science-y aspects of what the story’s about. There’s not really a way of explaining what happens in the story without completely spoiling everything but the general gist is that it’s the story of Charlie, a man who has been selected to be the first human test subject for a clinical trial intended to increase intelligence. It’s a tale of morality, ethics and the treatment of those who are mentally incapacitated. Be warned though: it will likely make you cry.

When I was a young girl, probably around the age of 10, my grandad introduced me to the Philip Pullman trilogy His Dark Materials. Since then, it’s remained one of my all-time favourite series’ and I’d even argue that I love it ever so slightly more than I love Harry Potter. There’s been a (terrible) movie adaptation of the first novel Northern Lights released starring Dakota Blue Richards, although it was released with the title The Golden Compass. There’s also set to be a BBC adaptation of the entire trilogy in the coming years, which I’m looking forward to. I love a good BBC adaptation and I do believe that they’ll do the series so much more justice than the film did.

I’ve been a fan of Sarah Dessen for as long as I can remember, and I really do have difficulty in choosing just one of her books as I love them all so much. It’s very rare that I find an author whose books I read religiously and love equally, but Sarah is definitely an exception to the rule. I decided to go with Just Listen because it was the first book by Dessen that I ever read and I do believe that I’m slightly more attached to these characters than I am to her others. I love that the book embodies music, friendship, and love. Owen as a character is probably one of my favourite ever created and I always wanted to find a boyfriend just like him when I was growing up. If you’ve never read Dessen before then honestly, you’re completely missing out. She is an absolute credit to the Young Adult genre of books and I honestly can’t wait for her next contribution.

I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t stick a French book in here somewhere (although I’ve misplaced my copy of it in French so had to include my Italian version Il Piccolo Principe in the pictures, oops!). I did have a bit of difficulty in choosing between Le Petit Prince and Camus’s L’Étranger but I think my feelings towards the latter were formed mostly off my former French teacher’s love for it. Le Petit Prince is an absolute classic and loved by all generations. Again, a movie has been released recently - I haven’t had the chance to watch it yet but I’m really looking forward to having a watch when I’m back from my holidays!

I can’t remember how old I was the first time I was introduced to Jane Eyre, but I know that I loved it immediately. I based my A Level coursework around it, through choice, I’ve annotated many a copy with my own notes and I’ve splurged (well, my cousin splurged on my behalf) on the most beautiful hard backed copy of it. Jane Eyre is a true classic. It’s beautifully written but not overly whimsical, a much more accessible alternative to Charlotte’s sister Emily’s masterpiece Wuthering Heights. The story is romantic and intriguing, and you find yourself falling in love with Jane and Mr. Rochester just as they fall in love with each other. The setting is creepy and a whole new spin is put on the gothic genre. If you want to start off reading classic literature, then I’d definitely say give this one a go first. You definitely won’t be disappointed.

Have you read any of my favourites? What are your top 5 fave books? Let me know in the comments!

Life: Homeware Wishlist Numero 3

Life: Homeware Wishlist Numero 3

Saturday 25 June 2016

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I've found that the older I get, the more inclined to spend all my money on homeware I am. You might have read on my twitter profile that I’ve recently secured a little flat all for me and I’m super excited to kit it out in cute stuff. I put together a little homeware wishlist and thought I’d share some of the things I’m wanting to buy with you!

I absolutely LOVE me a good print and I’ve found some super cute ones on Etsy to treat myself to. AbbieImagine has some absolutely amazing prints and there are two Disney ones that I’ve had my eye on for a while. I absolutely love this simplistic The Little Mermaid poster and I think this would look really lovely on my bathroom wall.  I’m also absolutely LOVING this Once Upon A Time print.

Next is probably my favourite shop to buy bits for the home from so it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t include a few goodies from there. I keep telling myself that the reason my boyfriend never buys me flowers is because I don’t have a pretty vase to put them in (a girl can dream!) I’ve been eyeing this one up for a while now and I’m definitely going to get one of these when I have a bit of spare dosh! I also love this little tea, coffee, and sugar pot and think it’ll look really pretty set up in my lovely new kitchen.

Finally, I think the ultimate blogger dream is to furnish their entire homes with stuff from Anthropologie. I 100% cannot justify the price of half of the stuff they have there, but there’s a little sale on at the moment so a little splurge won’t break the bank too much! I love this little tea towel with fruits de mer printed on it! Just like the tea, coffee, and sugar pot, it’ll look absolutely lovely in my new kitchen!

I’m so excited to get buying little bits and bobs for my new home (is it obvious!?)

What should I be kitting out my new princess palace with?  

Goodreads: Why I Read YA Fiction

Goodreads: Why I Read YA Fiction

Thursday 23 June 2016

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With the exception of psychological thrillers, the genre of books I read the most is without a doubt Young Adult fiction. I think my love for YA fiction began when I was much younger than a young adult, but then I always did read whatever I could get my hands on regardless of whether it was age appropriate (worst example of this being an 11-year-old me picking up and reading When the Wind Blows by James Patterson and giving myself nightmares for weeks afterwards…) I ploughed my way through Jacqueline Wilson, Louise Rennison, Ann Brashares and her Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants series. When I was a little bit older, I got into Sarah Dessen and her beautiful stories and hers are the ones that to this day I read over and over again. I went to Camp Half-Blood with Percy Jackson and Annabeth, Hogwarts with Harry Potter and the gang. I followed the unfortunate events which befell the Baudelaire siblings all the while developing a love for a genre of fiction that even to this day rests incredibly close to my heart.

I actually get quite offended when people say I’m too old to be reading Young Adult fiction. I get haughty when the staff in Waterstones give me weird looks when they see me perusing amongst the YA shelves. I am 22 years old. I’m far from being an “old” adult. I would say I am still a young adult. I’ve read articles which tell me that, as a 22-year-old, I should be embarrassed to be reading books intended for younger people, but I honestly don’t see how this is an issue. Quite frankly, even if I was an “older adult” I’d probably still read YA fiction. Young Adult fiction is beautiful in a way which contemporary adult fiction isn’t able to be. It’s important to generations worth of people, including my own and it is important in the sense that it makes me happy: and as far as I’m concerned, reading books which make me happy is the most important thing of all. I don’t read to appeal to other people’s expectations and I never will. 

I read for me and I read YA. 

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Life: 4 Things I'm Lovin' ATM!

Life: 4 Things I'm Lovin' ATM!

Monday 20 June 2016

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Pretty Little Liars

I think I’ve rewatched the vast majority of Pretty Little Liars over the course of the last year but I just started a full rewatch from the very beginning! I absolutely LOVE this show and I could watch it over and over without ever getting bored of the plot twists, character relationships and continued speculation about the bloody hell A really is! I’m still not sure, even though they’ve supposedly told us who!

Finishing University

After 4 long years studying for my French degree, I finally finished at the end of May. I’m really looking forward to catching up on my sleep, watching all the TV I’ve missed out on recently (ITVs The Secret is one I have on my radar at the moment) and getting on top of my reading! I have a few days off before I have to get back to work (bills won’t pay themselves!) and I’m definitely going to take advantage of these few chill days.

Pamper Days

It was my boyfriend’s mum’s 60^th birthday a few weekends ago and she had a little bash to celebrate. I decided a few months back to book in for some treatments to make myself feel better about all the uni exams and ultimately celebrate the end of my degree. I got my nails done in the morning on the Saturday and then went into Liverpool city centre to get my makeup done by an MUA. I felt absolutely amazing and was blown away with how a teeny bit of eyeliner can do SO much for my overall appearance. Now, someone teach me how to line my eyes so I can look smoking all the time, please!

Jaffa Cakes

Over my revision period, the amount of jaffa cakes I’ve gotten through has become a bit of a joke. I’m absolutely addicted to them and because they’re made with dark chocolate, there’s absolutely no dairy in them so I don’t even have to worry about getting sick! Win-win as far as I’m concerned.

What are you loving at the moment? Let me know!

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Food: Revolucion de Cuba Liverpool Bloggers Event

Food: Revolucion de Cuba Liverpool Bloggers Event

Thursday 16 June 2016

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Last week, my boyfriend and I were invited along to the Revolución de Cuba event on the Albert Docks, Liverpool. I’ve never been to any of the Revolución restaurants before so didn’t really know what to expect in terms of the food and drink, but my-oh-my am I pleased that we went along for the ride on this one!

In typical bloggers fashion, the drinks were flowing and it didn’t take long before I found myself feeling pretty tipsy. As soon as we arrived we were treated to Mojitos – I must be honest, I’m not a big fan of Mojitos (but obviously wasn’t going to turn down a free cocktail) and I’m pleased to admit that actually I quite enjoyed it. The mint wasn’t overpowering as I’ve found in the past with mojitos and it really quenched my thirst whilst we were waiting for everyone to arrive. As we got there quite early on in the evening, Jack gave us a tour of the place and I was blown away, principally because of the sheer size of the restaurant, but also because of its positioning on the docks and the beautiful designs throughout. It really was an amazing refurbishment and the team should be really chuffed with what they’ve achieved with this place!

After the mojitos had been (quickly) drunk, we were treated to a voucher each which entitled us to any drink from the bar. Paul and I obviously went for cocktails, with him choosing a Zombie (with it’s secret recipe!) and myself playing it safe with a Cuba Libre (aka a fancy rum and coke.) I was ever so slightly jealous as Paul’s was fun and fruity but I loved my choice none the less! 

Once everyone had arrived, the night kicked off and was quickly in full swing! We started off with a little tapas tasting session. A little secret about me: the key to my heart is through tapas. It’s my absolute FAVOURITE style of dining and I could honestly eat tapas every day and remain pretty content! We were treated to a fair few dishes and they were all fantastic. Firstly, we tried Chicken Quesadillas, which consisted of chicken, peppers, onions, a dash of cheese and a DELICIOUS pineapple salsa, all between crispy tortillas! We had Albondigas, my personal favourite tapas choice – chorizo, pork and beef meatballs. I enjoyed these but they were in a very strong tasting red-wine based sauce so that taste overpowered ever so slightly. In spite of that, they were still pretty damn good so definitely can’t complain there! We also tried Mojito Battered Prawns, which were my absolute favourite! I’d go back to Revolución de Cuba JUST for those prawns. All of these tasty tapas dishes were accompanied with a side of Honey Roasted Vegetables and incredibly spicy Patatas Bravas.

After we’d tried and tested the best of the tapas menu, we were treated to a cocktail masterclass, with each of us allowed the opportunity to make the cocktail of our choice. I chose to play it safe and make another one of the Cuba Libre cocktails, while Paul was a little bit more adventurous and tried his hand at making a Passion Fruit Mojito. As if we weren’t getting drunk enough (and believe me, at this point I was starting to feel a little bit tipsy), we were then taken further into the beautiful space that Revolución had created to try a few different shots of rum. I’m definitely a rum girl (as well as a gin girl!) and I LOVED this aspect of the night, although by the end of the session the shots were way too strong for my mouth (and my head) to handle. Special thanks to Koko for giving us tonnes of information on the different types of rum.

Finally (!!!!) we had a go at making our very own burritos. During the day of the event, Revolución de Cuba had an offer going where the first 500 customers through the door could grab a free Burrito. That said, I’m pretty sure Jamie the head chef was sick of the sight of burritos by the time it was time for us to make them, so hats off to him for taking the time to show us how to roll our own! My burrito looked fab to begin with but then fell apart in my hands as soon as I started to eat it, so obviously I’m not destined to be a burrito chef.

Special thanks to Jack for the invitation and for organising such an amazing bloggers event. We had an absolute BALL and I’m really looking forward to going back at some point in the future – I just have to, I’ve been eyeing up their Croquetas ever since I left the joint!

Book Review: Every Exquisite Thing by Matthew Quick*

Book Review: Every Exquisite Thing by Matthew Quick*

Thursday 9 June 2016

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In the summer of 2013, I was lucky enough to get a job teaching English in Milan, Italy, for a period of 4 months. Whilst I was there, I read a number of different books, all influencing me and reminding me of different aspects of my time there. One of the books I read was The Silver Lining’s Playbook by Matthew Quick. When I received a copy of Every Exquisite Thing in the post, I was quickly drawn to it and put it straight to the top of my to-read pile. I’m a fiend for a good YA book and this is most definitely one of those.

I finally got to finishing this book this gone bank holiday weekend after finishing my university course forever! I got stuck straight into it after my celebrations had subsided on Sunday morning, albeit with a bit of a heavy head. I’d heard quite a bit of praise about this book so I had high expectations and I’m happy to say that it didn’t disappoint me. I was a little bit confused throughout the story as to where it was eventually headed, but I think as a whole it was a very beautiful, thought-provoking and poignant story. It had funny parts, it had happy points and of course, it had sad parts. I got through it incredibly quickly, which I definitely think says a lot about the book.

The story centres around Nanette O’Hare, a young girl who receives an old copy of The Bubblegum Reaper from her teacher. Like many before her, she becomes obsessed with the novel and the loose ends that it provides to its audience. She arranges a coffee date with the author and from then on forms an unusual relationship with him and one of his other fans, a boy of her age named Alex. Over the course of the novel, Nanette and Alex form a friendship, a relationship and attempt to solve the mystery behind the real story of the Bubblegum Reaper. I thought Nanette was an interesting character on the whole, a tad whiney at times but otherwise I really liked what she presented to the audience. I particularly loved her relationship with Booker and the one she went on to form with Oliver as the novel progressed. I also enjoyed how the novel, through Nanette, tackled different social issues and did so excellently and with the upmost of care. I found the major event of the novel incredibly moving and I feel as though Quick dealt with the theme surrounding this event particularly well, particularly considering the stigma attached to it. I won’t say much more than that as you honestly really do need to give this book a read, but it was poignant and thoughtful and I hold this particular representation in high esteem.

I think this is one of those books that you need to read to truly appreciate so I really encourage anyone reading this review to pick up a copy of this and give it a whirl. I’m so glad to have had the opportunity to read this beautiful book, thank you once again to the team at Headline Books for my advanced copy. Every Exquisite Thing was published 31^st May and can be purchased in all the usual places.

4/5

Goodreads: My June Book Choices

Goodreads: My June Book Choices

Friday 3 June 2016

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Who can believe that it’s actually June already? I know I can’t! I’m really excited to get stuck into some new books this month and my oh my do I have a fab pile of books to work through! I got through quite a few last month, all things considered, so I’d like to be able to get through even more this month and finally get a hold on my ever growing to be read pile! Spoiler alert: it’s a bloody long one!

I’m going to kick off June with a few ebooks, particularly Victoria Walter’s short story The Summer I Met You. Victoria informed me that unfortunately this one won’t be published in paperback form as I had hoped, so I downloaded it to my kindle as soon as I could and I plan on getting through it pretty quickly. It’s quite a short one but I’m sure it’ll be just as good as The Second Love of My Life. You can read my review of that here, if you’re interested in checking it out. I’ve started and not yet finished reading The Square Root of Summer by Harriet Reuter Hapgood. I’m really enjoying this one so far, although the references to maths and physics are going a little bit over my head – I was definitely more of a Chemistry kind of girl. I also hope to read another few ebooks in June as I head off on my summer holidays with my best friends Leah and Lauren at the end of the month. I’ll only be taking my kindle with me so any beach and poolside reading will be done electronically. I’m going to give The Missing by C. L. Taylor a go as well as a recommendation given to me by Leah – House Rules by Jodi Picoult.

I’d quite like to get through a few of the ARCs sent to me by publishing houses as well. I’ve got The Butterfly Summer by Harriet Evans, Lie with Me by Sabine Durrant and The Jacq of Spades by Patricia Loofbourrow to keep me entertained whilst I’m off university for the next few months. I was also given a few books by a friend, The Versions of Us by Laura Barnett and The Humans by Matt Haig. I’ve already started reading The Humans and I’m really enjoying it so far. It’s very funny and I love the style of writing to this point.

Surprisingly, Liverpool’s absolutely beautifully sunny at the moment and I’m looking forward to taking full advantage of this, sitting out on Sefton park reading my book and sipping gin and tonics to my heart’s content (alongside doing some SERIOUS work, of course!)

What’re you planning on reading this month? Have you read any of my choices! Let me know!