The Cursed Child Review

Hey guys,

I hope you enjoyed all the posts that went up whilst I was away. I had an amazing holiday, it was the perfect temperature and we got to do so much!

After I got back, I went to the Harry Potter studio tour in Leavesden and it was a-maz-ing! I will do a post on it soon to give you all a sneak peak into what there is there. On the same day, I borrowed 'The Cursed Child' and I couldn't wait to read it. There has been so much attention on this story and originally I wasn't sure if it would be able to live up to the original series but it was so well written and I adored it! Absolutely adored it!

It is written as a script and I managed to devour the whole book in 2 hours, a new record, even for me! Once I started reading it, I just couldn't stop! I even forgot to eat breakfast I was so captivated by the story. It ties in aspects of the original 7 books but also adds new information. There are shocking aspects and heartwarming aspects alike, and every little part just felt like it all fitted in perfectly.

It is definitely worth the money and the time, especially if you're a total potterhead like me! It just added almost all of the information I was so intrigued by at the end of the 7th book. However, I'm not going to tell you the big secret, you're going to have to read it yourself to find it out.

I really hope you have a read, and I really hope you love it as much as I do!

Love you all x

I destroyed a book...

Zdravo!

Now, you are probably looking at the title and thinking 'WHAT?!' 'ASDFGHJKL' 'I can't even...' and all sorts of other things, but I assure you, it was for a good cause! And that cause happened to be my friends birthday present. Before you start kicking and screaming, let me explain... (Also, please excuse the dodgy photos, I've managed to lose my good ones and only have the ones from my phone to use.)

A few years ago (I think) I saw a photo of a book safe. (If you don't know what a book safe is, it's basically a hollowed out book that can be used to store stuff and keep things safe.) I immediately fell in love with the idea and actually brought a 'fake' one last year whilst I was away. It was never actually a book though, but was designed to look like one.

Anyway, back to the present story... For this friend, I knew I definitely wanted to make her something cool, and something she would like. So I decided on making a book safe. I know that she really likes reading, and positive quotes, so I put them together and came up with a book inside a book. I found a tiny book full of positive quotes that I wanted to give her (and some little chocolate bunnies) and then proceeded to try and find a suitable book to hollow out. It's actually much harder than it looks...

I didn't want to buy a brand new one, I wanted to find one that was slightly older and had a bit more character. Also, buying a book that had already been owned and read made me feel slightly less bad about cutting it up, because at least it had already fulfilled its purpose. I found this book 'Firesong' in a local charity shop, and instantly loved the cover beneath the dust jacket! It was actually the main reason I chose the book in the first place. It was a perfect size and thickness for what I wanted to use it for. (I also tried to read a little of it, but didn't like it at all, which is another reason it was perfect to cut up!)

I made a template from some old card to the size hole I wanted and used a Stanley knife to cut. Be sure to make sure you have a sharp knife or you will end up with some very jagged cuts, like mine did! I only cut through about 5/6 pages at a time to try and keep it as straight as possible. You can choose how deep to cut, I chose to stopabout 3/4 of the way down because it was deep enough to fit the little book (which I also seem to have lost the photo for too! Sorry)

Once I had finished cutting the pages out, I tidied the edges up a little and used a makeup brush to remove all the excess paper from between the pages. The hole was just big enough for the little book of positivity to fit in once it was wrapped, and to make sure it held properly, I tied it shut with a big silver bow, just to make it look even prettier.

I hope you guys have forgiven me for cutting up a book, it did make a nice present though! Last weeks language was Turkish, as guessed by the lovely Nicky over at teaandtakeaways.wordpress.com, who says that it is her favourite country! I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Love, Grace x

All The Bright Places

Hola,

Sorry the post is late up, I was writing an email of complaint to EE for giving me a bad voucher code. Anyway, today I finished reading 'All The  Bright Places' by Jennifer Niven, and it was brilliant! One of my friends recommended it to me (and has been waiting patiently for me to finish it), so thanks for introducing me to such a great book.

The first thing is that I love the overall look of the book. It is light and pastel, and covered in images of sticky notes, which is cool. I think I'm also automatically drawn to anything blue, I seem to have a lot of blue books and general items!

The story is devastatingly lovely and had all the feels flowing. As it started, I wasn't sure where it was going, but as the story progressed, it really developed and pulled me in. The alternating chapters between Violet and Finch's POV gives a lot of depth to the story and allows you to see how two separate characters see the world and situations around them.

When I finish a book, if it is a good one, with an interesting storyline, then I will spend a few days, maybe a week, contemplating what happened. It is true, when people say that a story will stay with you. There are only a select few that actually make this list for me, some have a great story whilst others just kind of fade, not that they aren't great works, they're just not my thing. In the words of Melissa Marr, "Life is too short to read books I'm not enjoying."

The advice I will give, without trying to give any spoilers, is that you will need tissues. The book deals with some very serious issues around mental illnesses. It also is written more for friends of those suffering from mental illness. There is also a section in the back filled with helplines for people to call if you know someone who is going though it, or are yourself. Niven was able to call on past experiences to aid in the writing of the book, which I think really adds a whole new layer and perspective to the story and the tragedy of it.

I hope you guys have a lovely rest of the weekend and a lovely week!

Love, Grace x

Soulmates - Review

Hey guys!

I'm so sorry for not posting last weekend; it was a busy couple of days! The post I was going to do is going to take a little more time than I originally planned, so I figured a review was a good plan.

"Every so often two people are born who are the perfect match for one another. Soulmates. But what if meeting your soulmate is earth-shattering - literally? An epic, electrifying debut about falling in love"

One of my friends lent me this book, we tend to lend each other books and films (or TV series' like Supernatural) that we think the other would like. Well, it's mostly her lending me things but you catch my drift. She said when she gave it to me that it was one to evoke emotions, so I was warned, but definitely not  prepared! 'Soulmates' by Holly Bourne has probably jumped to somewhere near the top of my list of favourite books. It doesn't quite beat the Harry Potter series or 'Finding Sky' by Joss Stirling, but it's definitely a contender! The book is beautifully written and the development of both the story-line and the characters was amazing! You really feel like you are bonding with the characters, the sarcastic protagonist, Poppy; the gorgeous Noah. You even feel like you know Poppy's Mum!

The emotions in the story are kind of like being on a rollercoaster, and when you get off you either feel pumped or like you need to lay down for a bit! I think the descriptions really add to this, they go into depth but not so much that you feel it is too descriptive and OTT. There were quite a few unexpected scenarios but you feel like you're there with the characters, seeing what they see and feeling whatever they feel. I was so drawn in that I never wanted it to end but it did *sad face* and I was just left sitting there at the table in the staff room at work, with a half eaten sandwich, thinking about life...

It may sound cheesy, but I really love it when a book draws you in so much that you feel like you have fallen in love with it. Yeah, that does sound cheesy... I think that's enough geeky-ness for today!

I hope you guys all have a wonderful! But if you're having a bad time, just remember that it wont always be so bad. We all have those times but remember, there are people out there who love you, they just might not show or tell you outright. It'll all be ok.

Love, Grace x

Review: Matched by Ally Condie

Hey guys,

Have you ever read a book that you think you should love but just don't? Matched is exactly like that for me. It just didn't excite my imagination and make me want to never put it down...

Don't get me wrong, Condie is a very talented writer and the language she uses flows brilliantly, but the story just didn't grip me like the other books I read do. The first few pages were good enough that it made me want to take the book away with me but that was pretty much where it stopped. *I'm really sorry if you love this book!* The plot itself, I was expecting to be riveting because when I read the back of the book when I brought it, I thought it actually looked quite good. However, I think the last line on the back of the book, 'And that's when her whole world starts to unravel...', gives the wrong idea. Her life doesn't completely fall apart, there's a few things that happen, but they're not explained enough for me to actually think that they are all that bad. 

I found I wasn't reading the book as quickly as I usually do and just didn't really care what happened. I hate having to say that though, because the writer has put so much time and effort into it and, in this case, Condie brought out a further 2 books in the trilogy, which I'm not at all sure whether I should read and see whether they're better than the first!  

I've read a few reviews of the book from other people and, although there are some really good reviews, there's also quite a few like mine. However, some of them said that the last 70 or so pages were great but I just don't really feel that! There's probably about 20 pages in the whole book that actually completely had my attention but as the whole thing is 366 pages long, that isn't really good enough for me. I'm kind of glad I didn't pay £6.99 for it, and instead found it in a charity shop for about £2! 

Even though I didn't particularly like this book, you might, so I'm in no way saying 'don't read it!' If the story line appeals to you, I'd suggest giving it a go! Sometimes it takes the slightly poor books to make you really appreciate the good ones!

Until next time 

Grace

X

Book Review: Looking for Alaska

Hey guys,

So, for this week's post I thought I would do a review as I haven't done one for a while and I absolutely love this book!

Looking for Alaska is the debut novel by John Green (author of 'The Fault in our Stars') that was published in 2005. I think it was a very well-written book that, although it is sometimes seen as a very controversial story, it was incredible.

The book starts by counting down to an mysterious and unexpected occurrence that left me shell-shocked and with tears running down my face! You don't realise what it could be counting down to until you reach it and the mystery of it makes what happens even more hard-hitting! However, no matter how many times I read Looking for Alaska or The Fault in our Stars (and usually end up crying), they leave me wanting more and are a real credit to John Green. He has managed to write books that refuse to finish when you turn the last page, they keep playing on a loop in your mind and stay with you! This, I feel, is an amazing achievement! 

The story-line is a little different to the usual 'boy meets girl' books that you usually see because it has a very different message to it. 'Love isn't always as simple as it seems'. Friendless Miles 'Pudge' Halter, tired of his predictable life, convinces his parents to send him to the boarding school that his dad attended (Culver Creek) where he meets the gorgeous yet baffling Alaska Young. They, along with Miles' roommate The Colonel and their friend, Takumi, hatch plans to prank the Weekday Warriors and bond in the process. Then, an unexpected tragedy strikes and the group are left trying to make sense of the situation and pull off one last, great prank.

I really do recommend this book to any John Green fans who haven't read it yet or for anyone who likes some adventure and tragedy thrown together into one amazing story!

'The only way out of a labyrinth of suffering is to forgive'

Until next time

Grace

X