5 stars – Page 2 – A Fangirl's Opinion

Salt and Stone – Victoria Scott

July 15, 2015

This series is soon becoming a masterpiece and one of my favourites with it’s gripping and action packed storyline and strong characters. I was so excited to pick this book and jump back into the competition, with the sea and mountain stages still to face.

Tella and the other Contenders have crossed the jungle and desert – and now, the ocean and mountain waits for them. As she and her group go farther into the Brimstone Bleed, tensions run higher. The terrains get more dangerous and treacherous. Trust is a fragile thing, and Tella must reassess who she can trust and who she should be wary of, all the while, trying to survive and obtain the Cure for her brother.

The story certainly become darker and more action packed which I loved and kept me on the edge of my seat for the entire ride with it’s beautifully written romance and adventure. Also the humour was a great relief and helped lighten it up a bit.

These trials or competitions are downright deadly at times. At times i thought that Tella could have died or everyone could. You actually have grown to love these characters, so when one dies or bites the dust, it’s like a piece of your heart has been ripped out. I really felt this emotion strongly through out the whole entire book.

Tella’s character development was so fab to read, as she became more independent and a strong leader instead of hiding in the background and following Guy. But it was nice to see that we didn’t loose sight of the original Tella character that we all connected with in book one. Her love and passion for the Pandoras was again something I really enjoyed and it really showed her strength and kindness which is one of the main reasons I love Tella as a character.

Guy on the other hand, still played the role of the mysterious bad boy but we start to see him open up with his emotions and I hope he opens up a bit more about his past in the next book.

Guy and Tella’s relationship in this book suffers a bit of a struggle, as Guy wants to protect Tella but she wants to prove her strength and leadership to Guys which just ends up with a lot of arguments. However there are scenes where my heart melts, like the beach scene which is just so cute!

“I may have saved you in that jungle, Tella, and in the desert, too. But out there in the ocean, you saved me.”

We are also introduced to many, many minor characters which added more variety to the original group and it was nice to learn more about different contestants. Mr Larson and Cotton, I both really liked as they spiced up the group and their actions. But as for Willow, I was still slightly wary of her as for me somethings didn’t add up.

If I had to be really picky, I thought this book had a lot more Hunger Games similarities. Like, for example, there are people betting on the Contenders, which they didn’t know, going into the Brimstone Bleed. This is similar to the contestants in The Hunger Games having sponsors however at the same time this series also has it’s unique touches like the pandoras which still play a large role in this book and I look forward to seeing what their role is in the next book (let’s hope theres one!!).

The ending was brilliant! It ended with a bang and of course it was dramatic and action packed, which was exactly what I wanted! I do hope there’s a third book so that we can join Tella and the others on their journey to finally destroy the Brimstone Bleed once and for all.

I easily award this book 5/5 stars and I highly recommend this series to all of the who are fans of The Hunger Games or who love a good action packed novel. If you like what you hear, do check out our spoiler free review on ‘Fire and Flood’

Game of Thrones Season 5 – Review

June 21, 2015

I would just like to apologise for the EXTREME lateness for this review but both Amy and I have are only just able to function adequately after the season finale.

I would also like to add that this review will be as SPOILER FREE as possible, I’m not making any promises about the previous seasons but nothing in season 5 will be spoiled for others.

WELL… what a season eh! I don’t quite know what to say! It was kick ass! Going into this season I really didn’t know what to expect, it’s almost impossible to predict things in this TV show, although I had a fair idea of its genuine direction, when it came to characters like Tyrion the trailer gave a pretty clear image in what direction they were heading. Other than that I was pretty clueless.

I can’t really do much of an overview without spoiling things so I’m just going to say that characters go to new places and a lot of it is… surprising? And they’re all in some serious shit. Vague, I know, but hey, I don’t think you want to be spoiled, now do ya… There were so many good episodes in this series, each time it finished I was like WHAT? And would look at my dad who was just as surprised and confused as I was. Some of the storylines this year were very confusing, I don’t know how many times I said “da faq is Arya doing?” (and no that’s not a spoiler, just a bit of insight…)
However I did feel as though there were some storylines that went a little bit too far and perhaps didn’t need exploring as much as they were, I’m not going to say who’s but it was quite controversial and got a lot of discussion. I just thought it was a little too much, if you’ve seen the season then you’ll know what I’m on about…

Quite a few characters died this season, some I am more than happy are dead, others make me want to crawl up and die with them. Yes, I’m serious. I AM NOT GOING TO SAY WHO DIES SO DON’T WORRY! But it was fairly traumatic, especially the season finale…

But before I leave, I would just like to say, if you do know who dies or what happens in a popular TV show DO NOT POST ANYTHING ON SOCIAL MEDIA! This comes from personal experience where the season finale was spoiled for me. For those who don’t know, Game of Thrones is shown in the US on a SUNDAY night, but in the UK it’s shown on the MONDAY night… you can see where this is going… well some inconsiderate person thought they would tweet the MAIN DEATH of the season finale approximately 4 hours before the airing time in the UK. It was fair to say I was pretty furious. So please be careful and just watch what you put on social media and be considerate of those in other countries with a delayed airing date.

Sorry about that little rant at the end there but I just needed to get it off my chest… Other than that it was an incredible season! Full of twists, turns and hidden surprises! I’m going to award this a 5 out of 5 stars!
And I’m sure you know by now that Game of Thrones contains violence and adult themes so I’m sure I don’t need to remind you to bare this in mind before watching…
If you have seen this season and are completely up to date then please pop some opinions in the comments, but please can you keep them spoiler free? Thank you!

All I Know Now – Carrie Hope Fletcher

May 21, 2015

This is probably one of the most helpful books I have ever read. It is full of great advice on growing up and gives you some big sisterly advice that I really needed to hear.This was written by one of my most favourite Youtubers, Carrie Hope Fletcher or ItsWayPastMyBedTime, unlike some of the books written my Youtubers, I genuinely bought this book to see if it would help me in anyway… and it certainly did.

For those who don’t know, Carrie is a very talented singer who is currently playing Eponine in the very successful musical Les Miserables (and wow she can sing!), with her very busy schedule she manages to make AMAZING Youtube videos and now she’s managed to write a book! Where does she find the time?!?This book is a teenage handbook to try and make this confusing and complicated part of our life seem a little more straight forward, and to help us not make the same mistakes as Carrie did.

I really did learn a lot from this book, I just wish I had it when I was about 11 or 12 and not 17, so that the previous 6 years could have been a little less bumpy! This book was kind of like a warm hug, gently telling me that everything is going to be okay, and that the teen age is survivable (amazingly). It was like true and honest big sisterly advice, and being born with an older brother instead of an older sister, this advice was much appreciated! It was really colloquial to read, it was almost like a humongous blog post (and I think it’s pretty obvious as to how much we all love blogging!) and because it was so casual it really felt as though she was talking to you personally. There were many British-isums though that I’m not sure people in other countries will understand, but, to be it made it feel really friendly.From Carrie’s videos, I felt like I knew her anyway, but now I feel as though we’re genuine friends even though we’ve never met.

Another thing that I really love is that it is full with really cool little quirky drawings (Drawn by Carrie herself, I swear is there anything this woman can’t do? Eternally jealous!) They’re just super cute and really reflect the chapters and everything they represent. Some of the chapters in this book include help with love, school, that school bully, and just life in general. It’s just so bloomin’ helpful! It’s also filled with funny, heart-warming and heart-breaking personal stories that will really make you think your teenage years were a little paddling pool, compared to Carrie’s Atlantic Ocean, it honestly puts everything into perspective.

There is so much I could say about this book and so many amazing aspects, but I don’t want to waffle on… I just really enjoyed this book, I have actually decided to make my future children (if I have future children that is…) read it because it will make their teenage years feel so much less daunting and scary. Although it wasn’t the fastest read for me, as I’m more of a fast pace, high action book lover, it was a real worthwhile read that anyone will benefit from reading!

I’m going to award it 5 out of 5 stars, it helped me a lot, thanks Carrie.

Poldark – TV Series Review

May 3, 2015

POL

Now if you don’t live in the UK then you probably don’t know that there was a television series on BBC1 on a Sunday night called Poldark. I know what you’re thinking “That’s a strange name for a TV show, I wonder what it could be about” ah ha! Well, I shall tell you! Poldark is the surname of a Mr. Ross Poldark who is the main protagonist in this rather wonderful series. Poldark is set in the 1700’s in Cornwall (for those of you who don’t know where Cornwall is it is the very south of the UK on the sticky outie left-hand side when you look at a map… I hope that didn’t sound patronising…) Anyway, it’s a truly stunning part of the county which I have yet to visit (I really need to visit). Ross Poldark left to fight in the American War of Independence, leaving his ‘girlfriend’ (that’s in inverted comers as I don’t think it was ‘approved’ by the family, as was the way in those days). He is gone for some time and is suspected dead, only he comes home to find the love of his life Elizabeth engaged to his Cousin Francis Poldark… Awkward…

Can’t really say much more without spoiling the whole series. My dad and I eagerly watched each of these episodes with great anticipation each week. It was one of those “Ooo Poldark is on switch it over quick!” kind of TV show. This was a really great, meaty TV show full of family drama, love(ish) drama and any other drama you can think of pretty much. What I really liked about this TV show is that you could never quite predict what the characters were going to do which made things a little tense but also frustrating at time. The cast of Poldark is also steller! Ross Poldark is played by the GORGIOUS Aiden Turner. Other cast members include Eleanor Tomlinson, Heidia Reed and Kyle Soller, some fantastic acting!

It’s quite a dramatic TV show, not gunna lie but it wasn’t one we were all talking about at school, I guess because the themes were a little bit more adult and complicated, but I genuinely really enjoyed it. If you didn’t know then this series is actually from a series of BOOKS! The first series is the first 2 books AND the next series has been green- lighted for the 3^rd and 4^th books. I am very excited! I’m going to give this 5 out of 5 stars! Both me and my dad really enjoyed this show!

I will leave a link for the IMDb page HERE

The link to check out the books HERE (I haven’t read them but I’ll link the goodreads page do you can have a gander)

Love, Rosie (2014) – Film Review

April 27, 2015

I was really interested to watch the film after reading the book only a couple of weeks ago (you can have a look at the book review here if you like), and I would just like to thank my co-blogger for lending me the DVD (thanks bud!). This film was a really nice break from my revision as it was light-hearted, cute and also incredibly funny!

For those of you who don’t know, this film is about two best friends Rosie and Alex who grow up together, it is pretty obvious from the start that they love each other but they’re always being pulled apart for various different reasons.

I did have high expectations for this film after my extensive enjoyment of the book. I was also rather worried that they might ruin it in some way. Although the cast did comfort me somewhat, any film with Lily Collins and Sam Claflin in isn’t exactly going to be bad! The acting in this film was also really good, it must have been difficult to be able to represent an 18-year-old and a 40-year-old in the same film but they seemed to do it with ease! I was also kind of worried about Lily’s English accent…I have certainly heard worse… JUST KIDDING, to be honest,, it was actually very good, I’m sure having two English parents helps! The thing that I really loved about this film is that it was hilariously funny but still managed to be serious about sensitive subjects such as teenage pregnancy. This film really perked me up after a long day of school and two hours of revision on top so I can imagine it would also be perfect for those sofa days or sick days!

It is always inevitable that when they make books into movies that they’re going to change and cut a few things. There are so many beautiful parts to this story that I was really worried that they would change everything and it would no longer be the story that I fell in love with. BUT I was pleasantly surprised, although they did change a few things here and there, it was still the same story and to be honest it made much more sense on screen than if they just used the book word for word (there are some bits in the book that would make a film a little disjointed).

I really, really enjoyed this film! It really cheered me up and it was worth the (long) wait! I’m going to give this book a 5 out of 5 stars, why not, it was a fun rom-com and a great story! Although this film is a 15 so please be aware that it does contain strong language and sexual references, so please bear this in mind before you watch this film.

Red Queen – Victoria Aveyard

April 14, 2015

OH MY GOD. This is one of the best books I have ever read, and I’m not even being dramatic I am genuinely in awe. AHHH I can’t even.This is a fantasy fan’s dream, the best way I can describe it is Game of Thrones (without the naughty bits) crossed with The Hunger Games crossed with Divergent. It’s quite something I can tell you that!

The actual story line is about a seventeen year old girl named Mare Barrow, she lives in a world where people are divided by blood. Silver or Red. If you’re born silver then you are in the higher hierarchy of life, you basically have everything handed to you on a plate and you also have super cool powers. If you have red blood however, like Mare, then you don’t have any super cool powers and you’re forced to live in the lower ends of society, working long hours, never being appreciated and always being looked down upon by the silvers. Also I forgot to mention, if you have red blood and don’t have a job by the time you’re 18 then you’re conscripted to fight in a devastating war that you’re likely never to return from.With a little luck and the help from a seemingly innocent man Mare meets in the pub, Mare ends up in the heart of the Silver court, working for the king, where Mare discovers who she really is and what she is actually capable of. But among the people she hates the most, with people who can read minds and manipulate anyone with a single thought, secrets are not easily withheld and like it says in the book “anyone can betray anyone” and especially in the lion’s den who can Mare trust?

One thing I really loved about this book is that I really could not predict what was going to happen next. I thought the plot was going in a certain direction but EVERY TIME it twists on its head and EVERY TIME I’m left with my jaw on the floor contemplating humanity. I know there are some plot twists that you kind of know are going to happen, but this was just insane, I was not expecting any of the events that happen! But now I’ve told you about the plot twist you’re going to try and look out for them, but if you can, try and go into it with an open mind so you can be as surprised and shocked as I was!

I really loved how Aveyard built up the world so beautifully. It is so detailed with each name of each kingdom and also all the different dynasties and families that make up the Silver court, everyone has an interesting name that you can never remember but still appreciate the time going into creating. Also I felt that, even though the storyline is quite complicated (I say quite I mean VERY complicated, I mean seriously I tried to explain it to my dad and got completely lost…) but it is really well written in a way that you were always understanding what’s going on.

Although what’s also good is that you were left in the dark about somethings which makes you really eager to read on and find out what the characters are planning…

I really don’t have any criticisms about this book, it was just perfect in my eyes. It was also set up perfectly for a sequel so keep your eyes open, although we might be waiting a while because this book was only published in February this year, but if/when the sequel comes out I will be the first in the queue to buy it!

I think it’s pretty obvious what my rating is going to be and that is of course the full 5 out of 5 stars! I cannot recommend it any more, just read it!

Paddington (2017) – Film Review

April 7, 2015

I hope you don’t mind us throwing the occasional film review on the blog, we might continue with it if you guys like it! I watched the film Paddington with my family this Easter and oh my word it is such a lovely film! It’s filled with fun, laughs and good old English wit! We had such a wonderful time watching this film, it’s one of those films that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside…

The film is a beautiful retelling of the classic story of Paddington Bear, for those of you who weren’t read this sweet childhood story before bed it’s about a plucky young bear from darkest Peru who decides to pack his bags full of marmalade and travel to London where he is taken in by a slightly dysfunctional family, who, through Paddington, learn to be slightly less dysfunctional.

This film is jam-packed full of very famous British faces who include Hugh Bonneville, Michael Gambon, Julie Walters, Peter Capaldi and Matt Lucas. As you can probably tell from just a few of the cast this film is acted incredibly well. Also, the script is amazingly written with witty lines and generally hilarious moments that this slightly mischievous bear gets up to.

But this film isn’t just for children as you might be thinking, both myself and my parents genuinely loved this film as it was written with a certain type of humour that would fly over children’s heads but we, being older and have a better understanding of the world understand. But there are also some tense moments as there is a ‘badie’ figure of a Taxidermist played by Nichole Kidman (told you it was a good cast!) with some incredibly close shaves for young Paddington Bear!

This is the perfect film for any occasion and is guaranteed to put a smile on anyone’s face, but if you’ve seen it and disagree I would love to hear why in the comments! I’m going to rate this film a five out of five stars * * * * *, I honestly cannot fault it, it’s just beautiful but for you to make your own decision I’ll leave the link to the trailer here.

The Mortal Instruments City of Bones – Cassandra Clare

March 7, 2015

Just to let everyone know this is my second read of this book and I intend on re-reading this whole series again so along with my book marathon I will also be doing a little review marathon on all the books in The Mortal Instruments series, I hope to read them as quick as possible but I am reading a few books in between so just keep your eyes peeled for the next installment in the series…

On to the review!

As I’ve already told you all this isn’t my first read of this book. I originally read this book a good couple of years ago and I was reminded on just how much I adored this world and everything in it! It is and always will be one of my favourite series of books! On the second read I realised all the things that I missed on the original read so I suggest if you read and love this book as much as I did then definitely read it multiple times, if that’s possible…

The main story line to this book revolves around a young 15 year old girl named Clary living in Brooklyn New York. One night, whilst in a club (casual) she witnesses a group of mysterious teenagers kill this boy. This boy turns out to be a Demon and the group of teenagers are Shadowhunters, beings with half human blood and half angel blood, set on this earth to hunt and kill Demons. Clary suddenly realises that her life will never be the same again…

I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH I CAN’T DESCRIBE AHHH! The world is just so beautiful and perfect and I so wish I was a Shadowhunter because their lives are just so cool! But let’s talk about Jace Wayland, one of the Shadowhunters Clary meets, he is the one that also has the biggest impact on her. Some of the things he comes out with are just so perfect, he’s sassy and sarcastic and all around pretty amazing. Jace isn’t the only brilliant character in this book there are countless unforgettable characters like Alec, Isabelle, Magnus and the infamous Valentine Morgenstern. It’s jam- packed with awesomness.

Another of my favourite parts of this book is that there are some AMAZING plot twists that no one will expect! The first time I read this I was like ‘WHAT?!?’ literally every five minutes!

I have countless praise for this book but I highly doubt you want to hear me rattle on and on about how awesome this book is (it’s truly amazing), just trust me and read it, if you’re a fan of fantasy then this is the perfect series of books for you! It’s not surprising that i’m awarding this books a massive 5 out of 5 stars * * * * *!

Keep your eyes peeled for the review for the 2nd book (it will be coming soon-ish).

Divergent – Veronica Roth

March 3, 2015

With the releases of the second instalment to the Divergent Series ‘Insurgent’ due to be released in cinemas later this month, I thought I should re-read the series and post my reviews on both the book and the film. I am a massive fan of dystopian young adults novels and when I was introduced to this series i was so excited as the plot sounded original and adventurous.

The story takes place in an undermined future where the world is divided into factions, including Candor (honest), Abnegation (selflessness), Dauntless (daring), Erudite (knowledgeable), and Amity (peaceful). Tris, our main character, has reached the age of sixteen where she is tested and placed in a faction that complements her intuition and character. As the story progresses and she chooses her path, it’s suddenly clear that she doesn’t quite fit in just one faction and that proves threatening for those controlling this perfect society because as a Divergent, she can’t easily be manipulated. What comes next is a continuous reveal of hidden agendas and power plays.

Tris is one of my favourite characters and i thought her character development was really good and something you don’t always see in female characters. From the beginning we begin to see hints of her courage and intuition but throughout the book it became clearer and for me it was the ending when she really shone; she can really kick some ass!!
Four again is another character I loved. The mystery behind him as a character was really intriguing and always left me wanting to learn more about him.
For me i really connected with the characters which i really enjoyed as i felt their pain, happiness and sadness which made me love this book even more!

The storyline i thought was really actioned packed and for me there was never a dull moment. As per usual the ending was great it left you on a cliff-hanger desperately wanting to know what happens next; i know i was!! The idea of the factions was clever and unique and i thought brought a different flare to the book.

Overall, I give this book 4.5/5 stars – a great read filled with action, great characters and a unique storyline. I really recommend this series to everyone and I hope you fall in love with these books just as much as i did! Keep your eyes peeled as I will be posting my Insurgent book and films reviews in the upcoming weeks!!!

Film

As for the film i thought it was a brilliant book to film adaptation especially for the first book in a series! I thought all the actors and actresses who portrayed the characters were perfect and i really enjoyed all their performances! Shailene and Theo for me were the perfect Tris and Four and worked really well together. The pacing was fab and i was constantly on the edge of my seat even though i knew what was going to happen. But for me it was the soundtrack which topped it off; it was perfect and i recommend you check it out! I’m so excited for Insurgent and all the trailers look amazing!

What’s your opinion? And are you excited for Insurgent? If so what scene?

Graceling – Kristin Cashore

February 20, 2015

As usual, I’m late to the party. I wish i had heard about this book sooner however I have ‘Booktube’ and the lady in Waterstones (again!) to thank for recommending me this book; it was amazing! It had everything a YA novel needed; strong protagonists, unique storyline and a action-packed adventure.

Graceling takes place in a fantasy world where certain people are gifted with extreme skills called Graces. Our protagonist, Katsa is graced with killing however this makes life hard for her as for many years she has been forced to become her uncle, King Randa’s personal thug. Throughout the book we follow Katsa as she uncovers the mystery behind the kidnapping of Po’s Grandfather and the mystery behind King Leck… I wont give too much away but this book never leaves a dull moment!

Right from the fist page of the book we are thrown into the action and adventure seen throughout the book. I thoughts the idea of the ‘Graces’ was brilliant and different to what I’ve seen before. The storyline was also brilliant and kept me on the edge of my seat through the whole thing! Cashore’s world building is immense and she has drawn a vivid picture of the seven kingdom Graceling resides in which you can really emerge yourself in.

Character wise, i thought Katsa was perfect. A strong, kick-ass female protagonist who we really see develop in the book from a slightly naive young girl in to a strong minded woman; I loved it! Po was also a great character as not only did he bring humour to the story he also helps our protagonist develop. The romance in the book was more mature and very unexpected which I really enjoyed as Po helped Katsa believe in herself and overcome her fears. Their relationship is so lovely as both Katsa and Po understand each other and fall in love, without needing to end up at the altar and live happily ever after.

However my only criticism character wise was the antagonists; King Leck. I wont give too much away but he was really creepy and I wished he played a larger role in the book or at least learn more about him as we were only given a snippet! For me he was the perfect villain and needed a bigger role!

Overall i thought this book was fabulous and a must read if you liked the ‘Throne Of Glass Series’. I am happy to award it with 4.6/5 stars; a great read with adventure behind every page!