Lorde - Melodrama World Tour

Today’s Blogtober post is a lot more exciting than the disappointment of yesterdays! Why? Well last night I headed down to the O2 Academy in Birmingham to see New Zealand singer Lorde performing on her Melodrama World Tour.

I’ve been aware of Lorde for pretty much 4 years to the day thanks to attending a Selena Gomez concert and her covering one of Lorde’s songs, Royals, which went on to be one of her biggest hits to date. However this is the first time that I’ve been to see Lorde perform a full headline concert. 

Last nights concert sold out fast and it’s clear to see why. Lorde is simply a delight to watch live. She has unique performing style which is mesmerising to watch, top that with her distinctive voice and it offered a truly enjoying performance. Lorde’s set design was simple but effective and Lorde herself even did a few outfit changes throughout her set.

I’ve listened to Lorde’s latest album, Melodrama, pretty much non stop since it was released due to a family member being obsessed with it so I was extremely familiar with the songs on her set list. She performed some of her popular songs from Melodrama such as The Louvre, Liability and Supercut. The album translates so wonderfully live, and Lorde’s vocals are incredible. As well as showcasing her latest album her set of course featured her biggest hits, Tennis Court, Royals and Green Light. 

Fans of varying ages and gender were singing (loudly!) along to every single word that Lorde sung proving the success of her UK shows. Sometimes, particularly during her popular songs you could hear the crowd singing almost as Lorde herself! Lorde seems to love every single moment of being on stage, energetically dancing to every song and she even got into the crowd towards the end of her set.

I like Lorde but I am a long way from being her biggest but their is no doubting her talent. She knows exactly how to command a stage and get the audiences loving every single moment. I actually feel quite lucky to have seen her in such a small venue as I can safety say it won’t be long before she’s headlining the biggest UK festivals. Sadly Lorde only has a couple of dates left of the UK leg of her world tour but if you like her music I can guarantee you’ll absolutely love seeing her in concert!

Blogtober - Day 1

It’s day one of blogtober and I decided a couple of days ago that I would try and take part this year. Basically for anyone who doesn’t know, blogtober is where you post a blog post every single day for the whole of October. Honestly, do I think I’ll be able to do it? I work insanely long hours so probably not, but I’m going to give it a go. I’ve not done any writing for a while so it’ll be nice to have a challenge. I know people spend weeks planning what they’re going to write for these things but I’m planning on pretty much winging it for the whole 31 days. I’ve saved a few ideas on Pinterest but other than that I’m completely just writing whatever I feel like that day. So if anyone has any suggestions on what they’d like to read about please let me know, suggestions are very much welcome!

So here we are starting the month with this post. Truthfully, i’m ill at the moment - yes I’m starting with the excuses on day one...but at least it’s only a cold so all being well that urghhh I’m dying feeling should be gone in a couple of days. Is this blog post a little bit of a cop out? Absolutely! But hey it’s my introduction to doing blogtober and I’ll try to make at least some of the other 30 days more interesting than this one! I am actually doing some pretty fun stuff in October so I’m hoping to be able to write some more interesting things at least. 

Good luck everyone else whose trying to attempt blogtober and hopefully we all manage the whole 31 days...

Undercover Princess (The Rosewood Chronicles #1) - Connie Glynn

Lottie Pumpkin (yes this is her real name!) is obsessed with the world of fairy tales. She loves the idea of being a princess, meeting Prince Charming etc etc. So when she starts her new school, Rosewood Hall, the last thing she expected was to be thrown completely into the world she fantasises about thanks to her new roommate Ellie Wolf.

It’s worth mentioning that I’m writing this completely impartial. Truthfully, I had no idea that author Connie Glynn was a YouTuber prior to writing this blog post so I didn't want to read the book based on the author. However, I've been seeing this book a lot lately, whether it’s been through a sampler at events or people posting about it on twitter so naturally after loving the sampler I read I knew this book would be exactly my cup of tea. 

I read this book insanely quickly because it just captured my attention. It was so full of twists and turns! Ok, yes some things were very predictable but then in the next breath some things happened which I certainly didn’t expect. I love the idea that the story is based in a boarding school. I actually thought the descriptions Rosewood Hall were wonderful and it was quite easy to imagine the setting. 

I really loved the characters too. Lots were introduced but it wasn’t hard to keep up with who was who and the 3 main characters were so instantly likeable which made them easy to read about. I had a few issues with certain characters, such as the villain for example whose motives I felt were a little nonexistent. Despite a few little things I thought many of the characters added something to the story. I am however hoping that some of the more minor characters will be discussed more in future novels.   

Although I really enjoyed reading this book I feel that this would’ve been one of those books I would’ve obsessed about when I was around 15 so I would highly recommend this for people around that age. However, if like me you read the blurb and like the sound of the story I think you’ll still love it as I certainly did.

I know I for one am very ready for the sequel of this book already! Ok yes I’ve read books that are better written but I enjoyed the story and its interesting characters that captured my attention from start to finish. Honestly, for a debut novel I thought it was great. What more do you want from a book really?

Synopsis - 

When fairy tale obsessed Lottie Pumpkin starts at the infamous Rosewood Hall, she is not expecting to share a room with the Crown Princess of Maradova, Ellie Wolf. Due to a series of lies and coincidences, 14-year-old Lottie finds herself pretending to be the princess so that Ellie can live a more normal teenage life. Lottie is thrust into the real world of royalty - a world filled with secrets, intrigue and betrayal. She must do everything she can to help Ellie keep her secret, but with school, the looming Maradovian ball and the mysterious new boy Jamie, she'll soon discover that reality doesn't always have the happily ever after you'd expect... A thrilling world of parties, politics and bad ass princesses, this is the first book in the brand new series THE ROSEWOOD CHRONICLES.

All That She Can See - Carrie Hope Fletcher

I've always made it obvious on this blog how much I like Carrie Hope Fletcher. I think she's one unbelievably talented performer. She’s written numerous books in the past but although I've enjoyed reading them none of them have really made me blabber on to people uncontrollably about this amazing book I've read, that is until now. 

 

Carrie Hope Fletcher's new novel All That She Can See tells the story of Cherry. Cherry has somewhat magical powers in the respect she has the ability to physically see people's worst feelings floating around them. Cherry decides to take it upon herself to try improving people's lives and bakes cakes in order to reduce people's bad feelings. She’ll see that a person is feeling stressed for example and will bake them a specially baked cake to help them reduce that feeling. Once Cherry feels as though her job is done she’ll move to a new place in order to help improve as many people’s lives as she possibly can. Little does she know that other people are born with the same gift (although some in different ways to her own) and this knowledge will change her life forever.

 

For me, this book makes me think of Northern Lights by Philip Pullman except daemons are in the form of feelings. I don't think this is a bad thing as I think the concept of seeing feelings is absolutely wonderful and the story is completely different I could just draw similarities at certain points whilst reading. If like me, you grew up reading books like Northern Lights, you will absolutely love All That She Can See.

It’s worth mentioning that this story is a little different to Fletcher’s previous fiction novel in the sense that it is less romance orientated and provides a lot more action in the second half. Yes, romance does feature throughout but the second half of the book is very action packed with a couple of quite violent scenes. However, what still remains is the author’s ability to write such unique, likable characters proven in this case through the main character Cherry. I also really love the way in which the author writes an element of magic into real life which comes across as something you can completely imagine happening in real life which only adds to the likability of this story.

I did find the story to be somewhat paced too face at times. At points when reading I felt that things escalated quickly, particularly in the second half of the book, but ultimately it is a relatively long book already so I can completely understand the quick movement of the story. However, I personally would’ve been happy with a few more chapters.
 

In my opinion this is the author’s best novel so far and I for one am very excited to see what story she comes up with next. The idea of seeing feelings and the fact the main character so actively wants to make use of that gift is such a great idea for a story. Carrie Hope Fletcher’s imagination is fantastic and portrayed so wonderfully in this novel. I highly recommend picking up All That She Can See as the next book you read.

Synopsis – 

Feelings are part of life - feelings are life. If you take away what people feel, you take away anything meaningful. Wanting to diminish the evil in this world is a good cause, one I have fought for the majority of my life, but not like this . . .

Cherry has a hidden talent. She can see things other people can't and she decided a long time ago to use this skill to help others. As far as the rest of the town is concerned she's simply the kind-hearted young woman who runs the local bakery, but in private she uses her gift to add something special to her cakes so that after just one mouthful the townspeople start to feel better about their lives. They don't know why they're drawn to Cherry's bakery - they just know that they're safe there and that's how Cherry likes it. She can help them in secret and no one will ever need to know the truth behind her gift.

And then Chase arrives in town and threatens to undo all the good Cherry has done. Because it turns out she's not the only one who can see what she sees . . .

A story of love, food and a little bit of magic, All That She Can See is an enchanting and beautiful novel that's guaranteed to be the most magical story you'll read all year.

I'm Back!

Hello! Bonjour! Hola! Remember me...? Yes I know, my blog has been extremely neglected (massive understatement...) this year. I had a bad start to the year and since then motivation to read and write has been non existent. I haven't even picked my kindle up for months because I just couldn't being myself to read which is the most bizarre thing coming from Miss I can read 5 books in a week. The blogger app had been discontinued on my phone too, which I think I was using as some what of an excuse not to write which didn't help either. But that's it, enough with the excuses!

However last week I attended Summer In The City in London. Summer In The City is the UKs largest YouTube event and to be honest it completely inspired me. I met a number of YouTubers including two of my favourites, travel vlogger Evan Edinger and amazingly talented artist Jamie Jo who is also known as bananajamana. I just walked round the day that I attended thinking that I could do this. I have a pretty swish camera, why couldn't I do this? And in reality although lots of people on YouTube are incredible artists or musicians etc lots of them are people just like me who just want a creative outlet and enjoy producing videos. It really made me stop and think that yes, maybe I could do this.

So here I am, back on my blog feeling very inspired to start writing again. If there's one thing that hit me whilst attending Summer In The City is that I could do these things and the only reason that I'm not is myself. Opportunities aren't going to come knocking at my door and I need to start making more for myself. Here's to a new start on my blog - hopefully I'll be back for a long time now!

Lost And Found - Danielle Ryan

 

Melissa is very accident prone. When she accidentally breaks her friends iPad she finds herself at an auction buying a used one to replace it. However, the iPad is full of photos taken by its previous owner. Melissa is instantly fascinated by the photographs and is determined to track down the owner. Thanks to a search on Facebook it doesn't take Melissa long to find the iPads previous owner Riccardo and start up a conversation with him. What they both never expected was for their lives to cross over in real life causing their online friendship to move into the real world. 

When I read the synopsis of this book it instantly grabbed my attention. It's such an interesting concept that someone can find an iPad, track down its previous owner and then form a friendship with them. I don't think I've read a book with a storyline like this so its different which is most certainly a good thing. The concept is so wrapped up in present day life that it is completely and utterly believable that this kind of thing may actually go on in real life. It made me think about the ways which people can end up falling in love today thanks to technology which I loved. 

Sadly for me, the story just didn't live up to my expectations. Personally, I found it a little too predictable and found myself groaning to myself at certain events of the book. In my head it was such a great idea for a book but it just didn't deliver the high expectations that I had for it. Despite saying this, I found both Melissa and Riccardo to be enjoyable characters to read about and they were both quite interesting. 

I can see a lot of people absolutely loving this book. For me, it was sadly just ok. I did enjoy reading it and it did make me think about things which is always a great thing for a book to do, I just didn't enjoy it as much as I expected to. If you read the synopsis and you think it is your kind of book, you should still pick this book up. The characters are great and the storyline is interesting, frankly that is just everything you want from a book.

Synopsis -

Can true love prevail when the real and online worlds collide? Perfect for the fans of Miranda Dickenson and Paige Toon. 

Melissa Riva works in Milan as a university researcher. After buying an iPad at auction, she finds it contains files belonging to its previous owner. 

Fascinated by the beautiful photographs of romantic landscapes and views of the city, she starts her search for the previous owner. Locating him through Facebook, Melissa can't resist contacting him. 
Melissa and Riccardo begin chatting online. Both of them becoming increasingly dependent on this strange relationship, though acutely aware that it's only likely to remain a virtual one. 

But when real life bursts in on their digital world, they can't resist revealing their true feelings...

High School Reunion - Kimberly Dean

 

Tara's 10 year high school reunion is rapidly approaching. She didn't have the best time whilst she was at school thanks to bully Ellie. So now, 10 years on she's determined to impressed. Tara has a good job but now all she wants to impress her old classmates is the perfect body and a good looking guy to take as her plus one. Tara decides that she needs to start working on her perfect body so decides to enrol at the gym where she meets attractive personal trainer Jake Logan. Can Tara tick everything on her check list to be ready in time for her reunion? 

I'm (scarily!) rapidly approaching my 10 year high school reunion so for me the story is very relatable. Although I'm still a couple of years off it yet I'd be lying if it hadn't crossed my mind that the only way I'd attend would be if I had a great job/was thinner so it's safe to say the basic premise of this book was very relatable for me. I think ultimately the reliability of the basic story to a lot of people is what really makes this book. 

Tara was a good enough character. She was smart, clumsy, funny...all good character qualities. I also liked reading about other characters in the book, Jake, Missy and Hawk. Jake was a great potential love interest for Tara and he really helped to carry the story.

On the whole I enjoyed this story. Some of the elements of the story however I personally felt were quite glossed over. A couple of instances of cheating happen in the book but it's not really frowned upon and nothing really comes on it. I didn't really enjoy that.

If you're looking for a light hearted book to read with a strong romance throughout then you'll love this book. 

Synopsis - 

Tara’s ten-year high school reunion is approaching fast, and she's not ready. She knows it's shallow, but she wants to set her old classmates on their ears -- especially the toxic Ellie, who bullied her in the old days. She has a good job but she needs the whole package if she's going to make that killer entrance, including having a toned body, a great outfit, and, most importantly, a mouthwatering guy on her arm. An eventful visit to the gym shows her that she may be able to kill two birds with one stone, as personal trainer Jake Logan turns out to be the perfect eye candy she needs. A course of hard training begins, with Tara eager to impress Jake—but what are his plans? She can't help noticing that he flirts with all his female clients. There's one particular client who could ruin all of Tara's plans—and she's getting far too close to Tara's quarry.