New Beginnings!

Hello everyone!
Quick post today to say- I'm back! For good this time hopefully. As of the 19th of November 2014, I am a high school graduate, which means more time for the internet and reading, less time for work (for now)! So in saying that, I've decided to 'revamp' my blog and make it all new and snazzy!
From here on most of the posts you'll see will be book related, before I was a mix of lifestyle and books, but now I really want to focus on books with maybe a few personal posts! For those of you who don't know (though I'm sure everyone reading this probably does) I'm majorly obsessed with fictional worlds. Not only do they provide my entertainment as I'm not big on movies and TV, they also fascinate me to no end. The best feeling I can think of is reading a book and being so immersed in it you don't see the words anymore, you see the story unfold before your eyes. For me, whenever I think about books I've read its like a little movie inside my mind, I can never remember actually reading the books, only the stories and the images the book gave me. Quotes will stand out, but I'll remember them as the characters say them, rather than the words on the page. It's for this reason I've made the decision to move forward with this as a book-based blog, as you can see I'm quite passionate (obsessed?) about books!
There's nothing else I really want to address apart from saying a big congrats to everyone else who has graduated recently! Isn't it the best feeling? Anyways! That's all from me for now, book haul coming soon, but who's really surprised? It's not a secret I've got a problem. Talk soon!

goodreads // tumblr // instagram

Books Around the World #1: Shadow & Bone

While I was on instagram earlier I realised how covers vary around the world and thought maybe I'd turn it into a series of some kind on my blog. I'm not sure if anyone else has done this - they probably have, but its still fun to do! :)  So to start this off, I decided to go with the first book in the Grisha trilogy - Shadow and Bone!

I really like all of these covers, but I think the German cover is beautiful. The rest of the series is just as attractive. I find it interesting that they differ so much, the UK version even has a different name! If you're after any of these versions, you can find them on Amazon or The Book Depository. If you haven't heard of the Shadow and Bone you can find the synopsis below!

The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness, is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka. 

Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the world of the kingdom's magical elite - the Grisha. Could she be the key to setting Ravka free? 

The Darkling, a man of seductive charm and terrifying power. If Alina is to fulfil her destiny, she must unlock her gift and face up to her dangerous attraction to him.

But what of Mal, Alina's childhood best friend? As Alina contemplates her dazzling new future, why can't she ever quite forget him?

If you're interested in reading it, definitely check it out on goodreads! I do believe it's high fantasy, but I may be wrong. The world building is fantastic, and the characters are amazing. One especially ;)  As much as the synopsis makes it sound heavily romance based - its not. I was a lot more focused on the kick ass characters and amazing storyline, though the romance is a great added extra. The series only gets better!

Let me know down below if you like this kind of post and if you've read Shadow and Bone - what did you think of it?



goodreads // tumblr // twitter

Book Haul #4

It's been like 4(?) weeks since I posted, I'm sorry. But I bought more books! I'll also be getting a new shelf soon, as I have no room for new books on my current one. It's stacked full bottom to top, so maybe I'll do a video or photo series of stacking my new shelf :) So anyway.. let's get started!

I got these books most recently, the top 5 today from Kmart, and the bottom two from the Book Depository, which I received in the mail last week. 

From top to bottom:

1. Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid
2. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
3. Four by Veronica Roth
4. If I Stay by Gayle Forman
5. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
6. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
7. Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor

I've read all of these books except for Four by Veronica Roth! I'm not quite ready to dive back into divergent world after Allegiant  </333 

I got a couple of other books to show as well that I got a couple of weeks ago from the Book Depository. 

1. Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King
2. Popular: Vintage Wisdom For A Modern Geek by Maya Van Wagenen
3. Ask The Passengers by A.S. King
4. Me and Earl and The Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
5. Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Since getting these books I've read Popular, Ask The Passengers and Me and Earl and The Dying Girl. Not sure when I'll get around to the rest, turns out I own more books that I own a lot more unread books than I thought, oops! I think I'm going to stick to collecting books I've read as eBooks already for now...  

I can't wait to get reading, and setting up my hypothetical new shelf that I have not yet chosen let alone have in my possession! Its gonna be super fun :') Stay tuned for more posts and I hope you enjoyed this one!

goodreads // tumblr // twitter

July

So every month I'm going to make an effort to make note of memorable things I've done, movies I've watched and whole lot of anything else I can think of. I did one of these in April, so if you wanna check that out, go ahead!
In July...
I read a lot of good books!

• Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan 
• Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo 
• Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
• Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo
• Open Road Summer by Emery Lord
• The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa
• The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski
• Popular by Maya Van Wagenen

This past month I've started and finished one of my new favourite trilogies, The Grisha trilogy. If you haven't read it yet, go pick it up or download the eBook because it is fan-freaking-tastic and I was blown away by the writing. I loved the story, the creatures and the characters in this entire trilogy. I even found myself questioning my morals, theres a certain extremely dark character I took a liking to, and I'm not ashamed to say that I totally fell for his charm. Other favourites include, Untold (which is the second book in a series, Unspoken being the first), Open Road Summer and Popular. Popular was amazing. It was the first non-fiction book I ever read and it really inspired me. I think I'm going to pick up the guide this book was based on and try it out myself. 

I watched some cool tv shows. 

• Teen Wolf
• Pretty Little Liars
• The Fosters
• Friday Night Lights

I started two new TV shows this month. The Fosters and Friday Night Lights. I really love the Fosters, but I'm not sure what I think of FNL yet, too early to tell. I'm only 3 episodes in, so maybe stay tuned for next months wrap up to see what I think then ;) I don't think Teen Wolf or PLL is a surprise to anyone. I have an addiction to both. I started watching Teen Wolf because Colton Haynes was in it, and I have a Colton Haynes fetish, but I fell in love with the other characters as well. I gotta say, I'm liking Malia this season. I've seen her get a lot of hate, but to be honest, I think she's a total badass and she's good for Stiles. 

I did some awesome things.

• Went to the beach and SAW DOLPHINS

Okay, so that actually happened yesterday but I'll probably forget to include it when I write my August post, so yeah. This was actually really cool. If you guys don't know, I'm very anti-zoo, anti-keeping-animals-enclosed (UNLESS it's beneficial for them, not for entertainment), so I would never really go to a park to see dolphins. Let me tell you though, seeing them free and doing their thing because they want to is beautiful. 10/10 would recommend seeing animals in their natural habitat, as long as your not invading their space. This is really the only cool thing I can remember doing, but I'm sure there were more.

I also saw The Fault in Our Stars, after I finished my exams at the end of June. 5 star movie, I was so happy with how it translated to film. 

goodreads // tumblr // twitter