Book Review - Broken Hearts Severed Heads

I have heard so many good reviews about this book and I was really intrigued from both the reviews and the books official blurb. However I must admit, it took me quite a while to really get into it. I've seen a few comments from people asking if they should continue with the book as they're not really feeling the connection and I do get where they are coming from.

I failed to really understand Ezra at the beginning and his negative energy and attitude didn't really enthrall me. It seemed rather cliched and I can genuinely say that I put the book down for a couple of days (bear in mind that might have something to do with the fact that I am in the middle of exams right now) and decided to come back to it with a clearer mind. I don't know whether it was the break I took from the book or something else, but whatever it was it worked. I became more and more interested in these crazy, slightly out there characters such as Toby and Cassidy, and felt as though I was truly figuring out life along with Ezra. 

Reality really kicks in with this book, especially towards the end. It's all about finding out what your place is in this world and knowing how to make sure you soak up every good thing about it. It's about moving out from your comfort zone and enjoying the things that you once wouldn't have been seen dead enjoying, breaking the barriers of social groups and stepping out from beneath the shadows. 

The twist towards the end of the book was a great addition to the novel, and my curiosity of Cassidy and her story was what truly made me stay to read to the end. I was pretty proud of myself when I worked out the twist myself, props to all who did and I think the book truly encapsulates what it's like to find and lose love. 
Overall, Broken Hearts and Severed Heads is an eye-opening novel about what it is like to grow up in today's world and how it's up to us and help from the people around us to make sure that we shape up to be exactly who we want to be and not just who we'll settle for.

Lets Chat - Life Lessons

Ever have those days where you just want to curl up and give up on everything? ...today is one of those days for me. Reaching for positives is proving hard so hopefully having this little chat with you guys will sort out my emotions a little. I have had what many would call the ultimate roller-coaster of a weekend. It started off so fabulous. A huge birthday sleepover with my best friends is the medicine to any sad mood especially when you're joined by those who you don't get to see as often as you wish you could. I love spending time with people. You know that feeling of complete calm when you're with someone else's family and you're just at peace watching how they live their lives? And it's crazy to think how different everyone's lives are, but it's also a really special thing? I love that. I had a couple experiences of that recently and it's been very educational and peaceful for me. It was great to just spend a couple days being a bit crazy and letting go a little, the run up to exams is starting and I'm feeling the pressures, so I really enjoyed it.

Now though I feel really empty. Or perhaps, incomplete. I don't really know why. I don't know if it's the post-sleepover vibe kicking in or if it has something to do with the trivial matter of the show that opened me up so many new dreams and possibilities, taught me so many life lessons that no parent or teacher ever could, has just ended. It does sound trivial, doesn't it? It's just a TV show. And that is so true. It's not the show I'm going to miss. It's the realism, the characters, the unconditional love and the valuable lessons that I'm going to miss the most. But in amongst all of this I've had one steady realisation; it'll never truly be over. This is true for anything that you've lost in your life, something that may be classed to others as more 'important' than a lame TV show even (but please note that things that are important to you may not be important to others, that's not always because they don't like what it is but they just have different outlooks on life and that's okay,) As long as what it is that you love remains to be something you love, it'll never be over. Those memories, the laughter, the tears it brought you? Do you think they're just going to disappear? They won't. They will remain for years after. And as long as what you've lost remains a part of you, you can never truly lose something.

I also had this sad feeling that now that the show that brought me and my best friend closer than ever has gone, what if everything suddenly fades? Perhaps just an 'in the moment' thought that I've concluded that can never happen. What I've experienced with her I won't experience with any another friend to such a degree. Favourites will come and go but true friends will stay forever and that is all I really need in my life. It's just an extremely weird feeling to have something you've been attached to for so long be not just out of your reach (distance being a huge problem for me) but now be something that you can never even imagine getting your hands on and how much that could change everything.

During this...slump that I've been in. I thought that I would do something I've wanted to do for a while and curl up on my couch and watch 'Love, Rosie'; which you might remember from my book review. I can't even explain to you how emotional I got. I cried basically the whole time. I never really understood how people could continuously keep missing each other and make the wrong decisions in the hopes of making someone they love and deeply care about be happy, which unfortunately does the opposite.

I could ramble for days about random moments that have really made me reconsider life and my decisions but what I just wanted to share with you guys is that; now is the time to be. Be crazy, be happy, be emotional, be optimistic, be ambitious, be completely ridiculous but most important be you. 

"Being a part of something special doesn't make you special - something is special because you are part of it." 

So go and be a part of it. Whatever it is, now is the time to get out there and do what you want to do. No more sitting around and watching peoples lives and dreams come true and wishing someday that you could be up there with them. It all starts today.

January Favourites

I can't believe January is already been and gone. Already the year has started off so fast. And I'm happy to say that I have managed to start my year, which is going to be a very fun-filled one hopefully, off perfectly. I've made it my mission to read as many books as humanly possible, okay slight exaggeration but you get the gist of it, and also produce as many book reviews as I can. And I'm happy to say I'm off to a flying start. Ive read so many great novels already and there are some more reviews planned that I can't wait to get out. But in the meantime I'm instead going to talk about my January favourites of this year in terms of Books, TV Shows, Films, Songs and whatever else I'm into at the moment. 

Books: 

1. Anna and the French Kiss 

It was extremely hard to pick out a favourite from the books I've already read this year but it's safe to say I've gone and done it. I won't reveal too much as this is going to be my next review however what I will leave you with is this beautiful quote: 

"For the two of us, home isn't a place. It is a person. And we are finally home."

TV Show

1. Glee 

This one wasn't so hard. I'm sure a lot of people are familiar with the show Glee, there to show us all that being the underdog is never a bad thing, and how it has given us five amazing seasons. At the beginning of January Glee started up again to film its FINAL season. And boy has it been an emotional one so far. I love Glee and it has brought me so much happiness for the past couple of years that I wouldn't change for anything and has definitely been my TV show of the month, probably of the last 2 years. By a long shot. 

Song

1. Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow / Head Over Feat 

Now the songs category is going to be an interesting one. The majority of my music comes from the Glee Cast or consists of people many haven't heard of before or the classic show tunes. This obviously isn't everyone's favourite sort of thing. However just giving this song a listen will undoubtedly put a smile on your face. It's a very very sweet song that I feel deserves recognition. 

And there we have it. There are my January favourites of 2015! I hope you have the time to check out some of the above! x 

Book Review: Fangirl

A very popular novel among the Tumblr community, I have been seeing this book everywhere. And believe me it has been receiving nothing but high praises at every turn. Fangirl, a young adult novel written by Rainbow Rowell, tells of the beautiful tale of every girls reality right now. And no I'm not talking about boys, drink and drugs that many people I know are facing right now but the ever increasing and emotionally heartbreaking tale of...yes, you guessed it. Fandoms.

Don't we all love that world? Of make-believe and fictional characters that you hate to love and those sarcastic assholes that you wish to wrap up in your own little blanket. Fangirl literally has it all. The main character in this particular novel is Cath, sometimes considered "Cather," Avery. Perfectly average girl who comes in a pair with twin sister Wren. Owner of her very own Fanfiction account, Cath maybe consider not particularly special on the outside but in the world of user Magicath she is as famous as her much beloved, Simon Snow.

For me, there is something different about Cath. Some sort of connection she has with the reader that I haven't experienced with many female characters that I've read before, and heck have I read a lot. Perhaps it's her innocence. Or maybe the way she opens her heart too easily and makes mistakes just like the rest of us. Whatever it is, I have to commend Rowell on how expertly and uniquely she manages to convey a character that I've no doubt many, just like myself, managed to connect with on such a personal level.

Fangirl has a vast range of characters, nearly all of whom I managed to fall in love with in some way, shape or form. Which isn't always easy for a writer to do, as they must focus also on the separate characteristics that may not always be appealing. Out of all these lovable and incredible characters I did however manage to pick myself two favourites.

As Cath moves to University and grows further and further apart from her sister, she does manage to stumble across two people. Two people of whom she creates quite the bond with.

Reagan. Now Reagan is Cath's new room-mate in her new dorm and she is a brilliant. Rowell manages to portray this sassy, badass chick who, although cynical and slightly crazy, is perfect for our shy and timid Cath to gain some confidence with and to show her more humorous side to as the joking between them remains constant and gets increasingly wittier throughout the novel. Overall Reagan is that one character that people would usually get sick of after a couple of chapters but, for some reason, stays with us as a favourite right to the end.

Aside from Reagan there is one other character that is absolutely pivotal to my enjoyment of the novel as a whole. And that is Levi. Childhood best friends with Reagan, Cath has no choice but to interact with him due to the fact he is round at the dorm nearly ever minute of the day. And when there is no one there to let him in, he sits in the corridor outside the room until either one appears. The connection between Cath and Levi reaches extraordinary heights as we follow these two down the path of life, love and friendship as they figure out who they are as a couple and also who they are as individuals.

Fangirl is simply a beautifully told story, one in which uncovers the true highs  and lows of being a teenager in the modern day. Rowell manages to tug at all the heartstrings as we join Cath in her unknown quest to find happiness, friendship, herself and love that she could only ever write about.

Book Review: Love, Rosie

So, for Christmas this year I received many new bits and pieces; from new technology, films and CD's to body washes, candles and books. Everything has been very much left in a shambles and as I struggle to find new homes for my new belongings I've already started reading one of my Christmas presents. One of my best friends bought me 'Love, Rosie' or perhaps more commonly known as 'Where Rainbows End' and I have been engrossed ever since.

'Love, Rosie' is all about a young woman, Rosie Dunne and her entire life in which is written in form of letters, emails and instant messages. It starts off with one of the main relationships of the novel and that is the friendship between Rosie and her best friend, Alex Stewart and how they go to the ends of the earth in order to make sure their friendship survives no matter what obstacles may occur along the way. 

Now, I know I'm a sucker for a romance therefore this book really did jump out at me for all good reasons. Although it could be considered slightly cliché and almost predictable it is definitely a book in which people can connect with on a personal level. The characters all come across as very real and almost exactly what you'd expect of people in daily life with some being very ballsy and know-it-alls whereas others seemingly lost and stuck in dead end jobs with lives they feel are going nowhere. Love, Rosie can be equally as frustrating as it is hilarious as you feel yourself getting angry and annoyed at the characters for choosing a lot of the paths that they believe are correct and in which you know is not going to lead to happiness for anyone. 

I loved pretty much all the characters that were introduced in the novel but if I had to pick a favourite it would have to be Alex. I think he is an absolute sweetheart who is a beacon of light in and amongst the darkness of some of the characters lives. He definitely grows on you throughout the novel and leaves you with a growing warm feeling in your heart. And I'm telling you, I definitely wouldn't turn down an Alex Stewart if he ever came into my life. 

Personally, I absolutely loved reading 'Love, Rosie' and honestly could hardly put it down throughout my entire Christmas Dinner. Considering I'm only 16 years old and loved it plus the fact that I definitely think that my mum would love to read this book I would recommend this book to anyone who can't say no to a cute story where they aren't afraid to laugh, cry and fall in love with the characters described on the page.