It Only Happens In The Movies - Holly Bourne

It Only Happens In The Movies tells the story of Audrey. Audrey hasn’t had the best experience of romance, her last relationship ended badly and her parents marriage didn’t end of well either. So now, Audrey hates everything romantic. In order to get some space from her mother, whose taken her marriage breakup particularly badly, she takes a job at a local cinema. It was here she meets Harry, who she finds herself falling in love with and of course the relationship isn’t like in the movie! 

When you go into Waterstones (and probably every other bookshop) it doesn’t take you long to find one of Holly Bourne’s books on pride of place on the shelves. I’ve always been intrigued by her books as you really can’t read young adult books without having her name on your radar, I’ve just never picked one up. Then I went to an event in the summer picked up a sampler of this book and I knew the minute it was released I had to download it. Honestly, I expected such great things from this book as I loved the sampler but I’m so sad to say it wasn’t for me.

I think my biggest issue was the stories. I just didn’t like it particularly. I’m a huge fan of the adorably cute romance novels - which from the sampler I thought this was going to be but it wasn’t at all like that. So for me, I think perhaps I bought it expecting one type book and book and got something I wasn’t expecting it to be like. For someone like me who likes the cliche romance novels this book wasn’t really my cup of tea - particularly the ending! Despite everything that happens I just couldn’t believe how the book ended. I do however, like the idea of how the Audrey hates romance and the novel revolves around the the cliches of romance. 

Another one of my issues is that (sadly) I couldn’t get on with the characters. I didn’t really get Audrey. I mean she was readable enough but I just wasn’t interested in her story. The same applies to Harry. He was ok, but he does drugs, smokes, sleeps around etc etc etc and for me that made it abit of a rubbish character to read about. I appreciate that actually these two characters are probably much more similar to real life people than most book characters which is great but for me they just were not likeable or particularly enjoyable to read about.

It really does make me sad that I didn’t like this book because people constantly tell me to read Holly Bourne’s novels. I will definitely pick up another of her books as I don’t want to judge on one book and this one was readable, I just didn’t love it. I think if you’re a fan of her previous novels you’re likely to love this one but sadly it just wasn’t my kind of novel.

Synopsis -

Bad boys turned good, kisses in the rain, climbing through bedroom windows... It only happens in the movies. When Audrey meets Harry, it’s the start of a truly cinematic romance – or is it? Audrey knows that Harry is every movie cliché rolled into one. But she still chooses to let him into her heart...

Perfect for fans of John Green, It Only Happens in the Movies is a raw, intensely funny takedown of the lies we’re told about relationship

Blogtober - Day 19

Today’s blog post is an absolute cop out. Yes I know, I’m terrible at Blogtober but hey it’s day 19 and I’m currently out and probably won’t get in until after midnight. In true me style I’ve forgotten about Blogtober until 20 minutes before the event i’m attending starts so I’m panic blogging to try and get something up for today’s post. I’m useless I know! 

Something about spontaneously being invited to things is always a great feeling. That last minute thrill of spontaneously getting dressed and dashing out of the house to do your impromptu plans. I suppose that’s one of the reasons I enjoyed my last holiday so much because I went with no plans and 100% spontaneous planning. 

Sometimes I feel that when you work 8-5, life lacks that bit of spontaneity. I eat my dinner religiously at the same time, I have toilet breaks pretty much at the same time, heck I even somehow end up doing my work to the exact same minute every single day. It’s boring, monotonous and frankly makes your life feel a little stale. The feeling of spontaneity is something that is beyond our planning control and I think as a human it’s important we have it from time to time.

Despite this you have to feel comfortable with the plans you’ve spontaneously decided to do. I tend to get quite panicky about plans I’m not 100% comfortable with or if I’m with people that I’m not too confident around and I last minute make excuses up not to go. However when I do bite the bullet and make last minute plans doing things I love with people I enjoy spending time we I always have a great time.

Sadly, this is all I’m got for today’s Blogtober! I was invited out this morning and I spontaneously accepted so here I am off to go enjoy the rest of my night! I really do think everyone needs this in their life every so often. Now I’m off to enjoy the rest of my night...I think I deserve an award for actually getting this posted up in time and with about 2 minutes to spare....

I promise tomorrow’s post will be better!

Blogtober - Day 18

I don’t think I’ve ever wrote something before that I’ve so seriously considered not posting but I’ve wrote it now so why not. Believe it or not I keep this side of my life quite hidden / I was a little worried people wouldn’t be happy with my thoughts on this. Plus combine that with the fact I actually wrote this at about 3am this morning when I couldn’t sleep...well even more reason I shouldn’t post this!

You don’t have to read that far on this blog to realise that I kind of really love the bands Busted and McFly. Yes, I can already hear the groaning, see the rolling of the eyes, the comments of are they still a thing....I get it every single time I mention them. I admit I tend to downplay how much I actually do love them to avoid peoples judging reactions! 

After I saw Busted in concert the other day I was saying how they are my favourite people to someone and I think they got a little offended. The argument they had is that they’d done more for me than Busted and that point is something that has drove me to write this blog post. 

When we walked back to our hotel, my equally obsessed Busted friend and I basically spent the whole time discussing how much we love them and it’s true we really do. It’s not a ‘oh my god I love them so much I want to marry them’ kind of way like we would’ve embarrassingly been like when we were in our early teens but now it’s in a they make me so unbelievably happy and it’s hard to imagine our lives without them in it kind of love. Like you truly feel on cloud 9 after seeing them in concert and I don’t think any other experience has come close to that feeling as of yet. 

It’s hard for people who don’t have this deep of a love of a band to understand I think but I think they have done a lot for me. I know for a fact I wouldn’t be the person I was today without them. My whole teenage life revolved almost entirely around my love of both bands...I hate to admit it but I was that annoying fangirl and my present day self would find 11 year old me so cringey. Thank god I’m now just casual about how much I love them to people and only let my inner 11 year old fangirl self out when I’m at a concert or with my Busted/McFly friend.  

But really Busted / McFly (and as solo careers / super group and whatever combination they want to come up with next) have been a part of my life for well over half of it which is crazy. I can’t actually remember my life without them being in it so it’s hard for me to hear people to say they think they’ve not been there for me. The teenage girl at school who used to come home crying, who was there for her then? Her Busted and McFly cds or her calendar marking down the days until she saw them live again. They never failed to make her happier. Who sparked off her interest to play piano and guitar? Yep Busted / McFly. Who sparked off her love of travel / London? You can’t doubt that the travelling all around the country from a young age just to see them perform didn’t play a part in that. Even most of her geography skills come from places she’d visited seeing them or they’d toured. Who gave her the first experience of heartbreak she ever had? Yep that was Busted. Who helped her become more confident with speaking to people? Yep that was them too. Knowing that people say queuing at the concert all loved the same thing that other people used to tease you for liking really helped talk to people and improve my confidence. I mean thats exactly how I met one of my closest friends now. Then you move onto the daft things like my love of Jaffa Cakes or the fact I visited Southend so much that it’s now one of my favourite coastal places to visit. My life has just been shaped by these bands. Honestly I could go on for days in all the ways they’ve been there or how different my life would’ve been without them. 

Truthfully, I don’t know what teenage me in particular would’ve done without them. They’ve always been that one constant thing in my life. Whether it was changing school, moving house, a friendship breaking down - whatever it was, the one thing that stayed the same was the fact I could always listen to my favourite music. Even daft stuff like going for a job interview now I have to listen to them to calm my nerves, the music still has that effect on me in a way that nothing else does. And still to this day nothing makes me happier than being going to see them in concert and being in the front row. 

You have to bear in mind I was at an impressionable age when all this started. Its bad to admit (but I was very young at the time) but if Tom said he liked musicals, I started becoming interested in them too (hello love of musical theatre now), if James said he liked Back To The Future I watched it - yep guess who adores those movies now. You get the idea. I just feel so lucky in a way that I was more influenced by people like them than my peers who were experimenting with smoking, alcohol, drugs, fake id etc at the time. None of that interested me as I was too absorbed in a world of McFly and Busted. I know you don’t see any part of a bands life so they were probably doing the same things as my friends were but I didn’t see them so it didn’t influence me - I think that makes sense. It’s odd as now I do things / like certain things and it’s as if they’ve always been a part of my life, but I can certainly see things like my music taste that is so clearly influenced by things they said in interviews when I was a teenager. 

Yes, I completely understand that they may not have been there for me as a person. I don’t know them, and I’m not even pretending that I do but I really do consider some of the band members to be some of my favourite people in my life. I think that my life has been heavily influenced by them over the years - probably even more than I realise! And for that I’ll always be thankful as they helped shaped me into the person I am today. I’m not denying that real life people have been there for me a ridiculous amount too but I just felt I needed to say that my love for these bands goes deeper than just liking a couple of the songs. I think that when you’re at the front of a concert the overwhelming sense of happiness you get it indescribable and even just for that reason it’s enough for me to think they’re some of my favourite people. 

This post has ended up one huge waffle but it’s something I just needed to get off my chest. Thanks to anyone whose managed to stay reading until the end! 

I’m sorry for yet another post about my favourite bands...I think I’m getting dangerously close to renaming my blog Confessions Of A Fangirl! 

Busted. Blogtober - Day 17

Last night I went to see Busted. Let’s be honest, this is going to be the worst ‘review’ you’ll ever read as I just love this band. They could come on stage, sit knitting for 2 hours I’d still come away thinking it was the best thing I’d ever seen.

A while ago Busted announced a massive one night special date at Londons, Royal Albert Hall. Then not so long ago, they added a northern date at Preston Guildhall. Same set as the Royal Albert Hall just at a slightly less snazzy venue! 

When the news hit that the Preston show was also getting the 2 set Busted show the excitement was ago! Uniquely, the band split the set with an interval in between. The first half being an intimate acoustic performance with the second being a lively electric guitar performance. It’s the first concert I’ve ever been to where that has happened but personally I thought it worked well.

The acoustic first half of the set was a nostalgic rollercoaster to say the least. Something about the band turning their songs acoustic just turns you into an emotional wreck. These are songs which I’d grown up with and have listened to during the good / bad times so hearing them stripped down was an emotional experience to say the least. Not only that but the acoustic songs really showcased the bands talents as performers. Songs such as Meet You There, When Day Turns Into Night and Everything I Knew were all part of the acoustic set before they finished the half with my one of my favourite songs, Sleeping With The Light On. I really could listen to them perform acoustically all day so for me this half was superb. 

The second half saw Busted return to the jumpy, lively performance that you expect when seeing the band. The set list was similar to that of the recent Night Driver tour with the edition of few fan favourites like Loser Kid and That Thing You Do. I don’t know if it was just because it’s been a few months since I last saw them before but I thought the set from both halves was truly fantastic and was the perfect mix of songs both old and new.

These concerts are the perfect celebration of all things Busted. Even despite seeing them rather a lot over the past couple of years, it’s still crazy to me how they’re a band again but I completely and utterly love the fact they are. Honestly if you ever slightly loved Busted give them another listen in 2017 and go see one of the live shows. I can assure you they’re even better than you will remember. I just love them and these shows with the acoustic / section were just fantastic and I’m sure they’ll be being talked about within the Busted fan base for years to come.

Blogtober - Day 16

They say you should never meet your idols. As you don’t know them the picture in your head of them is always better than how they are in real life. But you know what, I disagree. 

I hate the word idol, as I don’t have anyone that I idolise as such. However, I do have favourite bands, actors etc that I absolutely love and have had the pleasure of meeting numerous times over the years so I feel like I’m qualified enough to write this blog post. 

Personally I’ve only ever had wonderful experiences with my favourite artists/actors. I mean I met one of my favourite band members on a train once and he invited me to sit with him and played me songs that he’d recorded and not released. The same person years ago, also invited fans (including myself) onto his tour bus to play card games. These days for me just show what genuinely nice people some people are, I would’ve been so happy with just getting a photo but instead I got one of the most memorable / amazing days of my life and I’m so very thankful to this day that he did both those things. Another great experience was when one of my favourite actors spent hours after his play signing autographs and taking photos with people who had seen his play. He genuinely took a minute with everyone who wanted to meet him despite the fact he’d been on stage for hours. I was one of the last to meet him and it was gone midnight so the fact he did this was so nice especially as you go to see the play and not for a meet and greet at the end.

On the other hand my friend met her favourite singer at a paid for meet and greet and was literally shoved in for a photo and shoved straight out again. As she was a huge fan she was still thrilled she got to meet her favourite singer but slightly disappointed it was so rushed and didn’t get to say anything she wanted to say. Years ago, I met a singer (who is now hugely successful!) and the same thing happened. The security at this event was just pushing people in and out for a photo and the singer barely uttered a world to anyone. If this person was my favourite artist I think I may have been a little unhappy with this experience. 

With the rise of paid for meet and greets perhaps there is now a culture where it turns more into a cattle market. You’re pushed in for a photo, then out to try rush as many people through as physically possible. Which is great I suppose as lots of people still get to meet their idols but on the other hand it’s that’s rushed are people really getting a good experience from it? Therefore proving the point that you should never meet your idols as they just look a bad person when they don’t have chance to say anything to the fan they’re meeting.

I first met my favourite band member at a cd signing which is ridiculously rushed and your not allowed photos. However, he told me he liked my tshirt, I burst out crying (I was 11 at the time ok...) and it was the best moment of my life for years. In that respect I suppose it’s what the person wants from an experience. For me, at the time just seeing my favourite celebrities in the flesh meant everything to me so even signings were just the most incredible experience for me. However, if you’re expecting to meet someone and have a full blown conversation with them perhaps your experience won’t be as good as this very rarely happens. You have so much you want to say to these people, to thank them for etc and sadly you just don’t get the time to in most circumstances.

I haven’t named names in this as I don’t want to label people who I think have been really nice and on the other hand I also didn’t want to slag anyone off either. Maybe I’d say if my friend had met her favourite artist randomly in the street it would’ve been a completely different experience to what she got at the paid for meet and greet so I really don’t want to judge anyone. Truthfully I love meeting my favourite musicians / actors, the buzz you get is indescribable. 

Has anyone else met anyone famous? Would love to hear how you felt the experience went.

The Best Thing That Never Happened To Me - Laura Tait & Jimmy Rice

For me it was fascinating that this book was written by two authors. At not one point during The Best Thing That Never Happened To Me do you for once think that it was. Despite being wrote by two authors the book flowed well and I couldn't find any potential points in the plot that had been missed.

The book itself is told from the perspectives of the two main characters Holly and Alex. Having the book told from both perspectives enables us to see the events that occur from both sides well. It made me laugh on multiple occasions just how wrong they both were about thinking they knew how the other felt. I feel that it was definitely a plus side of the book. 

Young Holly dreams of travelling the world but as she's gotten older she has lost that dream and has now settled for working as a PA. Holly is dating her boss, Richard. Richard is very insistent on the fact that Holly must keep their relationship a secret from everyone. Holly isn't having some affair with a married man, Richard just thinks it'll be better to remain a secret. It takes a good way into the book for Holly to realise that not everything Richard says is right. Alex on the other hand has always wanted to be a teacher. He has achieved his dream but didn't expect to be teaching students who had no interest in learning. Both characters are very relatable which I feel is an attribute to the story as you really feel a connection to Alex and Holly.

Holly and Alex are from the same Yorkshire village and were best friends when they were younger. They hadn't seen each other for 11 years and then Alex moves to London where Holly now lives. Holly and Alex have been hopelessly in love with each other most of their lives but neither have ever done anything about it. 

The book explores the relationship between Alex and Holly and makes you wonder if they ever actually will admit to each other that they love each other as more than friends. I found the book very engaging. My only major gripe is the ending as although it is implied I would've loved to know exactly how Holly and Alex ended up. Its left me desperately want to another book to find out exactly what happens! 

Synopsis - 

Everyone remembers their first love.
Holly certainly remembers Alex. But she decided ten years ago that love wasn’t about mix tapes and seizing the moment – though she’s not exactly sure it’s about secret dates with your boss, either.

But what if the feelings never really went away?
Alex wants to make every moment of his new job count. It’s a fresh start in a big city, and he’s almost certain that moving to London has nothing to do with Holly. Almost.

How do you know if it was meant to be… or never meant to happen at all?

Blogtober - Day 14

Today has been a somewhat productive day as I’ve been packing. Sadly, no I’m not going on holiday, I’m actually packing to go queue for a concert tomorrow...except the concert isn’t until Monday night so I’m either extremely bonkers / dedicated / insane / a combination of all three. 

I’ve been spoilt by my favourite band over the years. I’ve seen them individually in tiny venues with a handful of people after they split up, then they got back together and had this amazing front standing zone in front of the stage. Now, anything less than being front row at a concert I feel a little disappointed. Honestly, that feeling of being at the front and your favourite band being right there is like nothing else and that’s really why I queue for ridiculously long periods of time.

This blog post is a little longer than normal but I thought today I’d share with you my top tips for queueing for a concert. Obviously everyone’s will be different to what I find works for me but I needed a blogtober post and this topic is very relevant to my day today.

1. Book a hotel

When I was in my teens I thought nothing of queuing overnight for a concert. However, as I’ve got older I’ve realised that for safety / sanity / making sure you don’t faint during a concert it’s so much better to book a hotel. It means you can still queue before people can arrive to the place by public transport ensuring your one of the first in the queue without the hassle of queuing completely overnight. If your hotel is near enough it also means you don’t have the stress of finding a toilet, you have somewhere warm to go if it’s cold, you have somewhere to charge a phone. For me the hassle of not having to find a toilet is the biggest thing, otherwise you’re always like oh the cafe next door will let you use theirs but you have to buy something, a McDonalds is a 24 minute walk that way, it’s just unnecessary stress! Basically I just love a hotel when I’m concert queuing.

2. Be comfortable and warm

Pillows, blankets, duvets, 12 jumpers, 100 pairs of leggings under your jeans, sun cream, winter coat, waterproofs...you name it I bring it! You’re sat on the floor for hours on end and believe me it gets uncomfortable really quickly. I’ve got my overpacking comfy things down so much now that I can usually get comfortable enough to have a couple of hours sleep whilst queueing! You never can predict the weather either and I’ve found even on most warm days it does get a little chilly when you’re just sat queueing.My favourite bands annoyingly tend to tour in cold months too so layers are everything. It’s also worth remembering to ditch all your layers / blankets etc an hour or so before the concert as you don’t want to take them in with you which is where again having a hotel to put things in becomes very handy. Plus if you have lots of stuff, the security at the door will take longer searching you meaning you may lose the spot you’ve been queuing for all day which you do not want!

3. Hand warmers

Ok, this one only applies when you’re queuing when it’s cold. But last year my friend and I discovered the absolute amazingness of hand warmers. Lots of different ones are available but we’ve found the ones that you can only use once and you shake to activate are the best. You shake to activate them and then slowly they warm up all day long - plus they last a good 8 hours or so! Feet warmers (yes really!!) are also available too! If you have any possibility it may be cold you need these in your life. 

4. Food & Drink

This one seems a bit rubbish to put on my list but whenever I’ve queued I’ve always taken a bag full of snacks, sandwiches and water. Sometimes where you’re queuing could be quite far from anything so it’s nice to have nibbles on you so don’t don’t have to make the trek for food/drink too often. Remember, drink plenty of water! I have a tendency to faint at standing concerts so I try keep as hydrated as possible up to a couple of hours before a concert. Obviously you don’t want to need to dash for a wee when you’ve finally got inside so water consumption is stopped a couple of hours beforehand! I also always make sure I have a packet of Dextro energy sweets on me, I just find whenever I start to get that faint feeling it gives me a little extra boost to get through the night. 

5. Entertainment

Again another really obvious point but you have to remember things to do. You do not realise how long queueing 15 hours + is until you’ve actually done it. Your phone battery seems to drain in record time too so make sure you invest in a good portable phone charger - it will be the best thing you ever purchase. Bring a book, bring a pen and a notebook, bring something to colour, bring your games console, bring playing cards...anything really that you think will help you get through the day. When you’ve been queuing hours and you still have hours to go it’s so wonderful to have something you can take out your bag to help the hours pass a little faster. It’s also worth factoring in that it may be raining all day so take something you’re able to do whilst holding an umbrella! 

6. Friends

I do a lot of things alone but personally I would not queue for a concert by myself - though if you wanted to I don’t see why you couldn’t. However if you go with a friend it’s so great that you have someone to hold the fort whilst you go and have a walk round to stretch your legs (which you’ll need to do often otherwise you can’t physically move for hours...) or to go for food etc. The friend/s you go with must also be someone you can talk to lots and get on well with. You’re going to be with the people you’re with for a very long time so it’s good if you have someone you always have plenty to talk about with otherwise I can imagine the day will feel even longer. It’s also worth being sociable to others in the queue, people will often be passing excess snacks around or offering to get you stuff from the shop when they go which is lovely. You have the love of the band your seeing in common so it’s easy to start talking to people. You’re going to be sat with these people all day and stood with them at the barrier at the concert so it’s worth just chatting even a little to them.

I didn’t want to list make sure you remember your tickets and that your camera is charged etc as I figured that was just too obvious. I know my things are obvious too but they are just the things I find improve my queueing experience. I’ve probably forgot something really important I should’ve wrote on this list so no doubt I’ll end up editing it but the tips above are my top of the head top tips. I hope if anyone is going to queue for a concert they find this helpful. 

Have you ever queued for a concert? I’d love to know other people tips too!