Book Review: They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

Book Review: They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

Saturday 30 September 2017

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Whenever there’s a particular hype about a book, I’m usually quite reluctant to buy it straight away. I normally get there in the end but I’m a bit of a reading snob sometimes and hype does nothing but sway me away from something. However, I’m incredibly glad I went against my usual stubbornness and bought myself a copy of the newly-acclaimed YA fiction contribution They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera.

Set in an alternative reality where people are notified of their impending death, we are introduced to two young men, Mateo and Rufus, who have recently been notified that the present day is their End Day. They enlist the help of a social networking application, Last Friend, and meet to share their last day together, making the most of their last 24 hours on Earth. The premise of the application is to meet up and live out your last day wholly and make it one to remember. Mateo and Rufus intend on doing just that and set out together as Deckers (the name given to those set to die that day) to make memories and explore whole new emotions.

What would you do if you had one last day to live? After the initial shock of discovering that they’re going to die, Mateo and Rufus set out to accomplish everything they hope they would have by the ends of their lives. They are not aware of the way in which they will day- adding to the tale in the sense that every action they undertake could consequently result in their death. Avoiding taking lifts and using stairs, refusing to ride on the back of bicycles some of the ways in which they attempted to prolong their already premature deaths. The characters are ones that I found intriguing and got attached to quite quickly: Rufus, an extroverted young man who had already been through so much after witnessing his parent’s deaths, contrasted with the quiet and introverted character behind Mateo.

I’ve never read anything by Adam Silvera before but I am tempted to pick up a few of his other novels now. I loved his style of writing and the flick between perspectives: the third person accounts of other characters involvement in the tale added somewhat to the progression of the story and I was interested to find out how all the stories would intertwine and come together.

The feedback on the book promised me tears and more tears, and while I didn’t find myself reaching for the Kleenex this time, the book was incredibly beautiful and was the perfect book to get me out of the reading slump I’d found myself in.

4/5. 

Food: Fantastico!! A night At Gino's My Restaurant, Liverpool*

Food: Fantastico!! A night At Gino's My Restaurant, Liverpool*

Sunday 24 September 2017

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Last week, I was lucky enough to attend the press event for Gino D’Acampo’s brand new autumn menu at his Liverpool My Restaurant. Liverpool is a city that is slowly but surely becoming renowned for its quirky bars and restaurants and I’m pleased to say that Gino’s restaurant is everything Liverpool needs and more. The restaurant is situated on the corner of Castle Street, in the old HSBC bank, and we had the pleasure of enjoying the glitz and glamour of the night in an old bank vault.

  

The restaurant itself was a lot bigger than I was expecting, and was laid out in a stylish and sophisticated way. It was nice to have a glance around the restaurant before we were led down to the vault- the Bullion Room-  where the event was going to take place. The restaurant hosts a mezzanine style area overlooking the kitchen, allowing visitors to watch their food being cooked before their very eyes. The restaurant was full of hungry diners and smelt of a whole range of beautiful aromas.

The Bullion Room, our venue for the night, is a beautiful private dining area that guests can book out for a range of different occasions, from birthday parties to business meetings alike. The room hosts a bar, dining area and a games room with foosball and pool tables ready and waiting to be utilised. Glass of Prosecco in hand and my blogging pals next to me, I was more than ready to taste test all the amazing food and drink in store for us. We had the time to socialise and network with the other people attending, before we were invited to take our seats.

Hosted by the charismatic Michela and Giuseppe, the event was an enormous success. Michela introduced us to the restaurant and spoke all about the vision that Gino had for his chain of restaurants. I own a fair few of Gino’s cookbooks and rave about him and his cooking style, so I was a bit gutted that he wasn’t going to be there himself but he did send us a little message welcoming us to his restaurant and explaining some of the methods behind his choices. Another perk of the restaurant is the fact that diners are treated to a complimentary glass of Prosecco with their meal- a bonus, if ever I knew one!

Finally, it was time to start munching away on the delightful delicacies that Gino’s had to offer. We were treated to a platter of antipasti– the Fantastico platter- a whole range of cheeses, meat and olives to tickle our tastebuds. As a lover of cheese (in spite of its tendency to upset my lactose intolerant tummy) I was delighted with the chance to sample quality mozzarella and ricotta. Gino’s restaurants import all of their ingredients from Italy and this was evident in the taste- the tomatoes were fresh, the cheese hearty and full of flavour. The flavoursome addition different meats- salami and prosciutto- only made the experience more memorable. As Prosecco played a particularly significant role in the evening, the antipasti board was paired perfectly with a generous glass of the Primo Prosecco Spumante DOC. We were treated to mushroom and truffle arancine, which were absolutely phenomenal as well as a platter mix of the classic tomato bruschetta and a slightly more ‘out there’ bruschetta, that was accompanied with prawns and chilli mayonnaise!

In terms of main courses, again, nothing was left to be desired. Giuseppe kept the wine flowing, ensuring that every dish that we tasted was paired perfectly with a glass of the good stuff. I was lucky enough to sample slices of The Real Neapolitan Pizza, the most delicious Italian sausage and friarielli based pizza, straight from the rustic streets of Napoli. There was also the Super Spicy pizza on offer, if you so desired, although I personally stuck to the Neapolitan. Finally, the pasta arrived: fresh linguine with crab and the most phenomenal risotto with Italian sausage. As a pasta enthusiast, this was the moment I had been waiting for. The linguine was everything I needed and I’m still craving it over a week later. We finished up the night with a tiramisu, a much needed digestif and the most delicious Aperol spritz that I’ve ever had the pleasure of drinking.

All in all, a fantastic night was had and I can’t wait to go back there and explore the rest of the menu in the future! It’s a restaurant that’s more than suitable for all types of people, professionals and students alike, and I feel very lucky to have been invited along for the ride!

Buon Appetito!

Goodreads: Why I love the Book Blogging Community

Goodreads: Why I love the Book Blogging Community

Monday 18 September 2017

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When I started blogging, all those years ago, I was a shy and introverted 21-year-old trying to kill some time living abroad. I never in my wildest dreams thought that what I thought was a little hobby would develop into something as exciting as it has. In the last three years, I have formed relationships with bloggers and authors alike, I have been nominated for prestigious blogging awards and I have worked with brands I never would have dreamed to have worked with. In spite of this, and my move over from writing exclusively about books to a more varied blog, full of travel and food, the Book Blogging community is something that I am honoured to be a part of and it has done amazing things for me as a person.

You make friends with people you definitely wouldn’t otherwise.

One of my favourite things about this amazing community is the most obvious things: connecting with people all over the world and talking about something that we all have in common with one another- books. Having the opportunity to share my thoughts on something I’ve loved since I was a little girl makes me incredibly happy and it’s nice to be able to get recommendations from other like minded indiviudals.

It motivates me to read more often and more varied books.

Being surrounded by readers all the time definitely encourages me to read more. Seeing everyone recommending fantastic books means that I feel more motivated to get through my current read, so I can start reading the next!

I’ve befriended SO many of my favourite authors.

Reading and reviewing a book by one of your favourite authors is made even better when they actually acknowledge, engage and form a friendship with you! I’ve befriended quite a few different authors over the years and engage with them on a regular basis. It’s nice to know that they appreciate your review and it’s nice to be able to show my own appreciation on a public forum such as Twitter.

The (exciting) perk of getting books prior to publication.

I’m not going to lie: getting an advanced reader copy of a book makes me blissfully happy. Having the opportunity to explore a book before everyone else does and share my thoughts with the publishers is an absolute privilege and I feel very lucky to be in the position that I’m in. It’s also really helped me financially, as I’m able to put money aside to save knowing full well that I have more than enough books on my shelves to get through the weeks and months. Obviously, I still make the unnecessary book purchases, but I wouldn’t be a book blogger if I didn’t!

What do you love about the Book Blogging community? Let me know!