Book Review | All the Bright Places

I had heard a lot of things about this book, not in detail, just how good it was from the people who had read it. Amazon were doing an offer of 3 paperback books for £10, this one included, so I thought I would take up the offer and give it a read. So, I didn't have much of an idea of what to expect until I read the blurb which gave me a very slight insight.

The sentence, from WHSmith, which just about sums up this books is.. "This is a compelling and beautiful story about a girl who learns to live from a boy who wants to die". There are two main characters, Violet and Finch, who couldn't be more different from one another. It's a very well written and easy to read book, which tells the story from both characters point of view. Especially from the view point of Theodore Finch, who has a mental illness. This review, also from WHSmith, gives you a bit more of an insight into the story..

"Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him. Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death.

When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the ‘natural wonders’ of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself – a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them.

But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink. How far will Violet go to save the boy she has come to love?"

Overall this is such a great story, easy to follow, and really gets you thinking from both perspectives. It's written in such a way that helps you to understand the mental illness which the character has, therefore this helps you really get into the book much faster and more in depth. If you haven't read this book then I would definitely recommend you do. 

Divergent Trilogy Book Review

If you love The Hunger Games then you will love these books by Veronica Roth. These books are the Divergent series which are just as good as The Hunger Games books in my opinion. There are also films alongside these books which you can get on DVD and the final one is currently in cinemas. Back to the books, my friend actually recommended these to me so I jumped on the band wagon and ordered the first one on amazon there and then.

To begin with I did find it slightly confusing, simply as there was so much going on, but it really didn't take long to catch on. When I got to about a quarter of the way through the first book, I was hooked! I honestly used any of my spare time reading these books just to get them finished quicker. The only trouble with that it, once you reach the final chapter, you want to know what's going to happen but you really don't want it to end. Unfortunately that's the trouble with all books, especially series of them.

In brief words these books revolve around a character called Tris and her family who are brought up within a "faction". When children reach a certain age they have the choice to choose a new faction, there are four to choose from, and Tris picks a different faction leaving her family behind. There are then a lot of challenges Tris goes through to stay within her new faction. I won't go into too much detail because I don't want to ruin it for you but the plot takes off from there really and that's when I became gripped to these books.

I would highly recommend these books if you are a fan of The Hunger Games or are just looking for something new to read at the moment. I cannot wait to go and watch the last film at the cinema, eeekk!

The Girl On The Train Book Review

It feels like I haven't done a book review for a long time, but I think that's actually because I haven't. Recently with me being on holiday I've been reading quite a lot of books so I wanted to start sharing them with you and my thoughts on them. I saw this particular book advertised everywhere a while back but never purchased it then. I then wanted to buy some books for my holiday and this came up on the bestsellers so I thought I would give it a go.

I actually ended up reading this before I even went on holiday because I couldn't wait and I finished a book prior to this one early so couldn't help it. To be honest I didn't really know what to expect as I hadn't read any reviews myself. I just knew it had been raved about a lot and was a bestseller so thought there must be something good about this book. My oh my, there definitely is something good about this book! I did have to read maybe 3 to 4 chapters before I was totally into it and hooked but once I got past those I couldn't put it down. It's definitely one of those books that you cannot put down and will find anytime in your day to just read a little snippet more.

The end of each chapter made me want to continue reading to the next to find out what happens and I could easily read many chapters in a go without getting bored. It's a lot more thrilling than I first thought it was going to be but that's the aspect I loved the most. I am such a closet thriller book reader so really this book was right up my street. I guess I would compare this book to something like Gone Girl which was also a much raved about book and is also a thriller. So if you've read Gone Girl and enjoyed that then I can guarantee that you will also love this book just as much.

The storyline, the plot and the characters seem so well thought out in this book that you can really get into character when you're reading it. This book flits from one character to the next on each chapter, which can sometimes get confusing. But this book is written so well that it is so easy to follow and at times I didn't even need to read which character this chapter was about, I simply just knew from reading the first few lines in the chapter.

I 100% recommend this book if you're into thrillers or even if you're not because I really think anyone could read this book. It's a relatively easy read and trust me you will not be able to put it down once you get into it. I will definitely be checking out other books by this author, Paula Hawkins, as I love this book so much. Let me know if you've read this book and your thoughts, I'd love to know what you thoughts of it :-)

Always the Bridesmaid by Lindsey Kelk

Lindsey Kelk has been one of my favourite authors for a long time now and I can put my hands up and say that I have read every one of her books. It's at the stage now where I wait for her next release and always pre-order getting excited awaiting delivery! Lindsey's I Heart series are one of my all time favourite book series and this book definitely lives up to those. I find Lindsey's books very addictive, once you've read one chapter it's like you have to read on to find out what's going to happen next. This often leads to late nights and endless chapters after one another.

This book has a great, real life story line which you can instantly connect with. It's all about three best friends, one of which is caught in between the other two where one is about to get married whereas the other is in the middle of a divorce. Therefore leaving a sticky situation for the friend who is stuck in the middle and this is where the story line hits off.

There are so many emotions revealed within this story from laugh out loud sections to sad, emotional parts. I found that I could really get stuck into this book and it is an easy read. It's not one of those heavy books that you need to really concentrate on. This is perfect for the evenings before heading to sleep and just reading a couple of chapters (or more!).

Overall this book was right up my street and I really didn't want it to end. I'm already awaiting Lindsey's next book, he he! If you've never read a book written by Lindsey before then I would 100% recommend checking her books out, you will not regret it. So I'm currently book-less therefore if you have any recommendations that you think I should read then please leave them below :-)

365 Blog Topic Ideas by Dana Fox

As a blogger sometimes it can be difficult to always be creative and think of new and innovative blog post ideas. Sometimes this can leave you feeling uninspired about your blog which is something I know a lot of bloggers hate. Your blog is yours, it's something you have made and therefore want to keep going (hopefully). I'm pretty sure all bloggers go through this feeling at some point or other, hence why this wonderful book by Dana Fox comes in super handy. Dana Fox writes her own blog, Wonder Forest, which I have actually been reading for a long time now. If you haven't checked her blog out already then I would definitely recommend doing so.

This book is such a simple concept but on the other hand is such an amazing idea. There are 365 ideas over 365 pages, simple. An idea per page which is such a simple idea but so great. There is no other writing included just a wide range of ideas which can be adapted to your own style or add in your own niche. This book is aimed at lifestyle bloggers initially but I definitely think all bloggers would benefit from this book in one way or another. Like I said many of the ideas can be twisted to put your own stamp on things therefore could be aimed at all bloggers.

You can see from my photographs a few of the ideas included within this book and obviously they are literally only a few. There are so many other great ideas which you can instantly get inspiration from. If you're lacking motivation or inspiration then I 100% recommend this book, it will honestly give you such an insight into the various blog posts you can write.

Overall I'm so pleased I purchased this book as it's already given me ideas of posts just from the first couple of pages. Also from those pages I've linked to other new posts I can write therefore giving me even more ideas for my blog posts. Hopefully in the near future you will see some of the ideas from this book on my blog! There are definitely some in progress already, wink wink. You can buy this book from Amazon here for £10.80. Which I think is such a bargain considering what you're getting out of the book as a blogger. Let me know if you've purchased this book and your thoughts :-)

The Mindfulness Colouring Book

I've seen a few of these books floating around the blogging world recently and I was really intrigued. I instantly headed to Amazon to have a look and there were so many different colouring books for adults. I never knew, before seeing them pop up, how many different ones there are out there let alone that they even existed. As soon as I saw these I knew I wanted to get my hands on one and I wanted one which consisted of many different patterns so it wasn't the same throughout.

After spending ages looking through the pages I settled for this one called 'The Mindfulness Colouring Book' which claims it's 'anti-stress art therapy for busy people'. This sounded great for me, I really do like to wind down in the evenings and occasionally at the weekends. I would normally read a book, which I do still do, but I thought this would be a great alternative for when I maybe don't feel like reading.

This book offers so many different patterns from abstract, Aztec, floral and animals, there really is something for everyone in this book which is what I love. I also love the size of the book as it's not too big therefore keeping the patterns on a smaller scale, meaning I might actually complete one. When I picked up this book I also purchased the Berol fine coloured pens to complete the book. I really like the fine ones as they make it easy to get into the smaller parts of the patterns more precisely. You get a wide range of colours and all the ones you would need pretty much to complete the book however you wish too.

Honestly I am in love with this book since purchasing it and really enjoy having some chilled time. I was pretty arty and creative in high school through to sixth form so it's nice to get that back in a small way now as I don't do anything like that anymore really. You can purchase this book from Amazon here and the pens also from Amazon here. This book is priced at only £3.99 currently which is such a bargain and worth trying out. If you like chilling, de-stressing and having some down time then I would 100% recommend this. But if this one is not for you then there really are so many others out there, you will definitely find one to suit you! Have you tried one of these grown up colouring books? What are your thoughts? :-)

Girl Online

A well known girl who has written what now is a well known book. It was super hyped up when this first came out, and even before that. I didn't want to give into the hype straight away so it wasn't until a few weeks back when I actually ordered this book. I was placing an order from Amazon and needed to spend over £10 to get free delivery so I thought why not give into the hype and give it a read. I knew this book was aimed at slightly younger girls than me but I'm all for an easy bedtime read.

The blurb says:
"Penny has a secret.

Under the alias Girl Online, Penny blogs her hidden feelings about friendship, boys, high school drama, her crazy family, and the panic attacks that have begun to take over her life. When things go from bad to worse, her family whisks her away to New York, where she meets Noah, a gorgeous, guitar-strumming American. Suddenly Penny is falling in love - and capturing every moment of it on her blog.

But Noah has a secret, too, one that threatens to ruin Penny's cover - and her closest friendship - forever."

The story line basically incorporates blogging, friendships and love. I think the story line is great and highlights all these areas well in a positive and negative light. You can tell when reading that this book is aimed at the slightly younger girls but it still made me want to read on. Even though the messages throughout the book aren't really aimed towards me personally, I can see how they are relevant to others.

This book was quite long if I'm honest but the short chapters made it easier to read. Once you got into the book, towards the middle, I was reading a few chapters at a time which meant that the lengthy book wasn't one to go on for months. Like I mentioned this was a super easy read for bedtime when you don't want anything too difficult or scary. Also there is going to be a Girl Online 2 which is set to come out this November.

I'm glad I gave this book a read but it was slightly too easy to read and the messages that came across just weren't all that relevant to me personally, as I said. But I did enjoy reading it and probably will still give into the hype after a while and get the second book. You can buy this book here from Amazon for only £6 at the moment. I'd love to hear if you've read this book and your thoughts on it? :-)