Last Week's Shenanigans (16th October - 22nd October)...

Finally! A long week off with my beloved fiancé! I've been really looking forward to it because we had so much planned to do and ended up being very productive along the way. The main thing that happened to me? On Monday, I dyed my hair! Finally! I've been wanting to do this for a while, but wanted to find the right place. I opted to go to Rockalily Cuts because they specialise in hair colouring, vintage cuts and looked like they knew what they were doing. It was the best decision ever, Charley really looked after me and did an amazing job! I was worried that my hair would be damaged in some way too, but it came out looking far healthier and smoother than it did before.

Our friends who came over later that evening loved it, and I got a great reception when our group got together for a big 'Bake-Off' night! I'm so pleased as making big changes is really difficult for me, so this felt like a really big step! Also, this salon is so cute so everyone should visit it at least once. I'll definitely be going back.

On Wednesday, Mat and I went out for the day for a little bit of shopping, dinner at Spaghetti House, and then the highlight of the day: watching The Book Of Mormon. It is so funny! It's very self-aware which I love too and I honestly think it should be necessary for all white people to watch this to understand how ridiculous we can be and the real meaning of #FirstWorldProblems. I'd definitely recommend it, especially if you're a fan of shows like Avenue Q.

On Friday we decided to go to Westfield to do some shopping, and I bought a ton of bits that I really needed - clothes, cosmetics, skincare and even a Christmas present or two! Like I said: productive (and expensive). Nevertheless, it was a lot of fun and when we got back we had a wonderful evening in. Both Thursday and Saturday were 'rest' days for us though we did have a few errands to run here and there.

On Sunday, I had the best time. I went to my very first Wedding fair! It was fun to have a look round at so many different stalls for dresses, photographers, make-up artists and jewellery among so many other things! Mat and I brought along my gorgeous sister/maid of honour, two of my lovely bridesmaids that live close by and his best man. We all had a lot of fun, I even got to try a couple of things on as did the bridesmaids. It was the National Wedding fair (the big one) so it gave us a much more solid idea of what we did and didn't want and we'll most likely attend some smaller ones throughout next year.

I Read...

I Received...

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Book Review: The Elite; Kiera Cass.

October seemed like a great month to read this book because of the red-orange cover. So autumnal! Sadly the book didn't really grab me in any way, shape, or form and I came out of it feeling very disappointed.

SOURCE: Netgalley
TYPE: E-Read

TITLE: The Elite
AUTHOR: Kiera Cass
SERIES: The Selection (#2)
PUBLISHER: HarperTeen
PAGES: 337
GENRE: Young Adult, Romance, Dystopian

RATING: 2.5/5 Stars

Blurb:
America Singer will leave her pre-destined life for a world of glamour and luxury, if she wins…

But surviving The Selection is tough. Rivals are battling to become Prince Maxon’s bride as the threat of rebel violence just beyond the palace walls escalates into war.

Only six girls are left and sworn friendships are tested to breaking point. America’s feelings for Maxon grow stronger, but she suspects darker mysteries in his royal past. With ex-lover Aspen waiting for her in the shadows, where do her loyalties truly lie?

What I Liked:

• Filling in this section is going to be tough. I guess the fact that I do still want to read book three must count for something, right? There was a glimmer of plot during the scene with the rebels and reading the diary and I really wish Cass had explored that story more thoroughly rather than America's book-long inability to choose between two men. Ugh.

What I Disliked:

• Where to begin? Let's start with the whining shall we? Everyone knows that love triangles are something that more often than not, I can't get on board with. That's because they often consume the whole plot and this is a prime example of that. This whole book was about America Singer, torn between Prince Maxon and her ex-turned-guard Aspen, and unable to choose. She complains about how difficult it all is, begs them both for more decision making time (which they are pathetically willing to provide) and talks about virtually nothing else for the entire book. She doesn't even feel that guilty about it, nor does she worry about being caught. It's awful.
• Thanks to the reason above, there is no plot or character development in this book. Just some minor sub-plots to make it look like something is happening, but this is just filler material. I wanted to read more about the world-building but sadly, no. I wanted to see America become a kick-ass contender, but again, no. Does anything really happen? No. Could you skip this book and go straight to the finale? I'm 99% sure that yes, you could.

Overall Conclusion:

Sigh. I wanted to like this, but I've been putting it off because I had a premonition that this was the reading experience I would have. I was right. The love triangle took over, and even that wasn't resolved by the end of this book. So I'm going into book three in the same position as book two, minus like one contestant. I liked that the tension between the girls was taken up a notch, but that was about it. Tell me about the rebels! Or about how Ilea came to be! Also, I like Maxon but I would really like it if he stopped calling everyone 'dear' and 'darling' like a middle-aged pervert, and the way that he described his relationship with Celeste as 'relieving tension' and America was all 'I get that' literally made me sick.

Last Week's Shenanigans (9th October - 15th October)...

I'll be honest, not huge amounts have happened today. Mat started the week off being pretty unwell, so I've spent most of it being tired and looking forward to the week's holiday I have booked. Mat and I have been watching Gotham and really enjoying Season 3, as well as a lot of other programmes on the side. I've also realised I need to go shopping and get a lot of stuff, so I'm looking forward to having time off to do so!

I Read...

I Received...

- 'Neanderthal Opens The Door To The Universe' by Preston Norton: Approved by Netgalley (13/10/17)

Book Review: The Hate U Give; Angie Thomas.

If ever a book rode the hype train, it was this one. It made me excited to read it, but also a little nervous that I would be disappointed. I ended up really enjoying this read of course, and it is a book that our world really needs! 

SOURCE: Bought
TYPE: Paperback

TITLE: The Hate U Give
AUTHOR: Angie Thomas
SERIES: --
PUBLISHER: Walker Books
PAGES: 438
GENRE: Contemporary, Young Adult, Romance

RATING: 4/5 Stars

Blurb:
Sixteen-year-old Starr lives in two worlds: the poor neighbourhood where she was born and raised and her posh high school in the suburbs. The uneasy balance between them is shattered when Starr is the only witness to the fatal shooting of her unarmed best friend, Khalil, by a police officer. 

Now what Starr says could destroy her community. 

It could also get her killed.

What I Liked:

• Books like this will create dialogue, and that's what I loved most about it. Thomas wrote her amazing concept really well. It's a story we have all heard before - a black youth being shot by a police officer because of the assumption of 'being up to no good'. This book gives a voice to friends, families, and the community of the victims. It realistically shows how the media and different races see the situation. And it breaks your heart and opens your eyes at the same time.
• I liked the characters. Especially Starr's family! The relationship between Starr's Mum and Dad was just a joy to read and I loved how they handled Starr's dilemma. Seven, DeVante and Chris were great to read as well, especially when they began to cast their differences aside. I felt that, despite Khalil leaving the story early, Thomas did a great job of letting us get to know him.

What I Disliked:

• There were things I disliked. This was a long read, especially for contemporary fiction and I could definitely point out a few parts that weren't really needed. I also felt that Thomas was taking a lot of her own frustrations about white people out on her white characters. In some ways this was clever as it is so often done to PoC side characters in fiction, but in some ways it felt a little hypocritical that they weren't really developed beyond 'raging accidental racist' and 'the butt of the joke'.

Overall Conclusion:

I enjoyed this read. Great concept, fits into the political climate well and displayed some great character development. Starr was a good MC though I found her sassy attitude a little grating at times. I definitely think Thomas did a great job writing from a teenager's perspective. There were some great parts to this book but I didn't feel like it blew me away as I would expect a book with so much hype surrounding it to do.

Last Week's Shenanigans (2nd October - 8th October)...

What a week! I made the most of my days off and went to see friends on Tuesday. We had dinner, watched The Big Bang Theory and had a lot of fun! My next day off was Friday and we went to see Kingsman: The Golden Circle which was a really cool film. I almost liked it as much as the first one, which was good because I was worried that it would be bad. There were a few issues but I liked it a lot. 

The best day of the week was Sunday! We went to our chosen wedding venue to an open day and saw some great suppliers that we're considering for the wedding. We have a lot of time ahead of us before the big day but we're really enjoying the planning process and it was nice to spend the day with friends and family!

I Read...

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I Received...

- 'Devil's Day' by Andrew Michael Hurley: Approved by Netgalley (06/10/17)
- 'Everless' by Sara Holland: Approved by Netgalley (06/10/17)

Last Week's Shenanigans (25th September - 1st October)...

I'll be honest, I haven't really done much this week. I've been trying to get loads more reading done, as well as getting back into Pokemon Sun in a big way. I'd really missed gaming for fun, so it was good to do so! There's not much else to say, but I'm excited that October is finally here because while I don't like the cold, I love this month!

I Read...

I Received...

- 'Replica' by Lauren Olivier: Bought on Amazon (25/09/17)

I Posted...

September Wrap-Up
Planned Reads For October

Planned Reads For October.

I'm not really a fan of the cold weather, but there is something about October that really excites me. It's Halloween month of course, and that always informs my reading! I want to read spooky books with a paranormal twist, and I've got some great options lined up, as well as a few other choices in between!

'The Hate U Give' by Angie Thomas. This is of course a leftover read from last month that I didn't quite finish in time, but the black cover really fits in anyway! This book covers some very serious issues: namely racism and the #blacklivesmatter movement and I'm all about the #ownvoices representation this book has. It's been on the NYT bestsellers list for so long and I have a really good feeling about it.

'The Elite' by Kiera Cass. Wow, pretty dresses on a cover. Remember when that was a thing? It's really about time I got through some of these old series and I'll admit, I'm using this book to fill a challenge category. That being said it feels like an Autumn read and I did like the first book a lot. Fingers crossed this isn't just 'filler' material.

'Lies We Tell Ourselves' by Robin Talley. So I read Talley's 'As I Descended' in October last year, a retelling of Macbeth which fit perfectly into the month's supernatural theme. There's no paranormal activity to be found in this read but that cover mixed with the American History lesson will no doubt make it a compelling read all the same. Race is a big issue here, but I'm even more excited to see that it's LGBT fiction! Very intriguing!

'The Goblins Of Bellwater' by Molly Ringle. Oh yes. Now we're getting to the spooky stuff. This book is based on Christina Rossetti's poem 'Goblin Market' which I always found very creepy when reading it for school, and the synopsis here sounds really cool! I wanted a little bit of Fantasy before I delve into ghosts and I'm going to get it here I think!

'Glimpse' by Kendra Leighton. This book has been on my list for a ridiculously long time, and it's another one based on a famous poem I read at school: 'The Highwayman' by Alfred Noyes. I really liked studying that one so I'm hoping that this will be a good read to get into on a chilly Autumn evening!

'The Woman In Black & Other Ghost Stories' by Susan Hill. 'Spine-chilling' has been used to describe this book, and that's exactly what I'm hoping for when reading it! Obviously I've already read 'The Woman In Black' and I'll most likely skip that one. But as it's one of my favourite ghost stories, I'm excited to get into the 'others' in this collection!

'The Girl In The Tower' by Katherine Arden. I loved reading 'The Bear & The Nightingale' earlier this year, it was a gorgeous re-imagining of Slavic folklore and I imagine it's successor will be no different. There were definitely indicators towards a bigger plot-line in the last book that I want to read about!

'The Hawley Book Of The Dead' by Chrysler Szarlan. Another book that has been on the list for way too long, who doesn't like to read about witches during Halloween month? The cover is really pretty and I'm definitely intrigued by the synopsis. I'm really hoping to plow through these as I'm in for a good reading month if I do!