Thursday 30 April 2015

April Wrap Up

Thursday 30 April 2015
I don't know how I managed to get so much done in April - I wasn't expecting to even get a few posts up this month but apparently I entered into some kind of time warp and this month was two months long or something.


  • Remember last month when it was basically a whole month dedicated to All Time Low? In the beginning of April I managed to get tickets to an All Time Low signing so I got to meet the band! It was glorious. Jack Barakat held my hand and then winked at me and I proceeded to pull a face that might represent a naked mole-rat in a LOT of pain (aka - I tried to wink back forgetting that I CAN'T).
  • I also went to the Disney store in Oxford Street on the same day and it was like all of my dreams came true. I got to sit in Cinderella's carriage! YES. I KNOW. 
  • The day after all of this I took a trip with my family to go to Sky Gardens in London - if you're ever about you should book tickets because it's gorgeous. And then my mum, my nan and I went down to the Museum of London to see the Sherlock Exhibition that was there (I was 2 inches from the real coat that the real Benedict Cumberbatch wore in the BBC show and I cried).
  • You might know that I have a love for this certain band called 5 Seconds of Summer and well, yes, I went to try and meet them again and got a picture with frontman Luke Hemmings. He had a really cool jacket that I can't stop, won't stop talking about. he also had to bend down like 3 miles to hug me which was slightly embarassing but also cute.

 April 2015 might be my biggest and best reading month. EVER.


 The Assassin's Blade:  I don't usually read novellas or prequels but I was willing to make an exception for Celaena Sardothien. I couldn't possibly reiterate my feelings as well as I did in my review of this book so you can check it out here. 5/5 Stars.

How To Be A Woman: A book that every feminist or otherwise needs to read. How To Be A Woman is rude, honest, funny and completely mesmerising. Caitlin Moran is one of those women who can make you laugh and nod along even if you don't agree with what it is that she's saying. Definitely give this book a read. Review here. 4/5 Stars.

Unbreakable: This was just an 'okay' read for me. I didn't think it was spectacular and it didn't make me want to text all of my friends and tell them to 'read this fucking book' but there wasn't anything bad about it either. I believe that it's free on iBooks so if you're interested then check it out! 3/5 Stars.

Blue Lily, Lily Blue: Woah. Every. Single. Book. In The Raven Cycle series just gets better and better. This one was threefold more dramatic, heartbreaking, funny, creepy and just flat-out shocking than The Dream Thieves (and we all know how I felt about that). My review of Blue Lily is here and it explains everything a whole lot better. 5/5 Stars.



 A Study In Scarlet: I'm not used to classics. I don't read them an awful lot if at all so I found the voice of this one a little hard to get into. I also kept picturing BBC's Sherlock so it kept throwing me off a little bit but I did really enjoy this. It was the first Sherlock Holmes novel that I've read and it was everything that I had expected. 3/5 Stars.

The Winner's Curse: Everyone loves this book. I am one of these people. Honestly I can't even describe how I felt about this book right now so you'll have to check out my review. 4/5 Stars.

We Were Liars: I wasn't sure if I wanted to read this after all of the mixed reviews I heard but I figured that I should give it a shot. We Were Liars had me on my toes throughout the whole book. I didn't know what was coming, I was outraged at the family, I was nervous about finding out what the big secret was and then. The ending. Oh my god. 4/5 Stars.

Fangirl: It's no secret how I feel about this book. It honestly isn't. Even if you've read one or two of my posts you'd know that I find it difficult to go even 3 minutes without talking about Fangirl. I wrote a letter to the book describing my thoughts and feelings so if you want a clearer review you can go and read that. 5/5 Stars (again).



 Darkness of Light: I was really in the mood for a paranormal read at this point and Benjaminoftomes recommended this on his YouTube channel so I thought that I might as well check it out and I loved it. It was seductive, dramatic, creepy and intense. Paranormal guys are usually the hottest type of guys as well so it wasn't lacking in that department either. 5/5 Stars.

The Selection: Maxon. Prince Maxon. Protect him at all costs. Prince Maxon Support Squad 2k15. I love Prince Maxon. I REALLY enjoyed The Selection. It wasn't the best literature by any means or even the most creative storyline but it was completely addicting and I loved it. I couldn't get enough of it. America was annoying, I wanted to strangle her at times but then she did something to make up for it. I just REALLY loved this book. 5/5 Stars.

Say Her Name: This book, honest to God, scared the fucking shit out of me. I was home alone when I read this book which was a huge mistake. I couldn't look in any mirrors, I couldn't look out of the window. Every time I moved around my house I was convinced that someone was watching me. Considering this was a horror book, I'd assume that this was a job well done. The storyline was also really creative and addicting even if I didn't enjoy the love story so much. 4/5 Stars.

Enigma: This was just a lacklustre story. It didn't have any creativity in the paranormal aspects or in the contemporary aspects. It felt like there was a lot of drama thrown in just so that there could be drama and it just didn't spark any interest in me. The love triangle was maybe one of the worst love triangles I've read and was the driving force of the whole book but somehow I wanted to continue reading it. I got to the end and I wasn't blown away by it but I wasn't completely disappointed either. 2/5 Stars.



 The Elite: The Elite was pretty much the same as The Selection for me. It was a guilty pleasure read with not much as a plot directive but I still enjoyed it. I forgot to mention that I read The Selection Trilogy as part of a buddy read so expect a post on that soon. 4/5 Stars.

The One: I read The One on the same day that I read The Elite and I enjoyed it a whole lot more. There was more of a plot in this one, I think. It was a lot more dramatic and the love triangle is a lot more bearable and Prince Maxon is still the cutest cutie ever. 5/5 Stars.

The Luxe: I didn't know a lot about the plot of this book before I read it and I was surprised. It was a lot more dense than I was expecting and I enjoyed it but it isn't one of my favourites. There were plot points that shocked me and pissed me off but I honestly think that that's a whole part of the book. The ending wasn't shocking at all - throughout the book it becomes clear what happened at the end. 3/5 Stars. 

Winger: I have a lot to say about Winger but I'm not going to say it all. The beginning half was extremely difficult for me to get into - it was funny but there was a lot of objectification of women that made it hard for me to get through. I will say, though, that the objectification is pointed out by another character and it is pointed out as a flaw in the main character which, of course, gave it a reason so it wasn't just chucked in for the book to be some sort of misogynistic pleasure for the male readers/author. The ending completely shocked me. It didn't turn out how I expected it to AT ALL. I cried for about ten minutes and then I sat there with my mouth gaping. This book is worth the read even if just for the ending. You won't expect it and it will make you feel physically sick. 5/5 Stars.


 What Happened To Goodbye: Loved it. As I do with ALL Sarah Dessen's books. As always I'm gutted that I don't immediately have another one to pick up straight after but, alas, onwards and upwards my friends. 5/5 Stars.

This Song Will Save Your Life: One of my new contemporary favourites. This is my review: 'I adore this book. Sometimes you read a contemporary and you finish it feeling like 'okay, i loved it. it was a good book' and then sometimes you finish a contemporary and you scream (or whisper scream because it's 1:43am) and flail and read the last quote again and then again and then you read it out loud and then you rush to find a sticky tab because you absolutely have to mark this quote forever. This was the latter. There are some books that you read and that you go away having loved and there are some books that you read and then go away with them being a part of you. This Song Will Save Your Life will forever be a part of me. It's one of those books that I needed when I was 14/15 and one of those books that I need three weeks away from being 18 and it's one of those books that I will need when I'm 30. I don't want to say too much more about this book for now, because I just finished it and I'm reeling and honestly I just want to sit and soak it up a little bit more but I will say this - READ THIS FUCKING BOOK.' 5/5 Stars.

Wonder:  This book is incredible. I knew that so many people had loved it but I didn't have it in my mind to be as amazing as it was. I loved the different point of views and I adored August. Wonder is such a beautiful book and I know I say that about almost every book but this one is filled with wisdom and beauty and everything you could want in a single book. 5/5 Stars.



  • April has consisted of two bands: All Time Low and The Maine. Also a lot of High School Musical. 
  • I finished Teen Wolf and OITNB and I loved them both so much. I also continued on with Friends and I'm on Season 4.
  • I went to see AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON AND IT WAS AMAZING. It blew my mind. I love the Avengers and Marvel and Captain America and it lived up to every single expectation I had. #Clintasha though. Always. 
  • I started Daredevil with my mum. It's such an intense, gory show and I LOVE it. But I have to watch it in small doses. It's not a marathon show for me. 


"Everyone is something" - What Happened To Goodbye

On the fourth day of April I posted my Throne of Glass playlist titled 'You Could Rattle The Stars'. I posted my third #TTT. I had to wrap up everything that I did in March eventually. I got really angry about a line that I read in a book so I made a post about it RAPE TW. Then it was TTT #4 which was one of my favourites to write because it was all about quotes. I signed up for Dewey's Read A Thon. I made a post rounding up all of the reading challenges that I've started. I wrote a letter to Fangirl, one of my favourite books. TTT #5 brings a list of my auto-buy authors. My Mini Reviews post of the month. TTT #6 was a list of Characters that Remind me of myself.

Most Popular Post of the Month (Comments): Blurred Lines (I really don't want it)//Rape TW I was so glad to hear all of the positive feedback from this post. I was nervous to post it because I thought it would seem a bit dramatic or unnecessary but I'm happy that this wasn't the case.

Most Popular Post of the Month (Reads): Blurred Lines (I really don't want it)//Rape TW the same as before really. I don't have much to add.

4 comments :

  1. It looks like you've had an awesome April! I'm super jealous of you being able to meet two of your favorite bands, and the Sky Gardens sound beautiful. If I'm ever in London I hope I'll be able to book tickets there. :)

    And wow - you've read a ton of books this past month! I somehow still haven't read E. Lockhart's We Were Liars or Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl. Based on your ratings, I definitely need to check out those two soon.

    So happy I stumbled across your blog, Natalie!

    Julia Anne @ Peach Print

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    1. The beauty of living in London is that my favourite bands/celebrities come here quite often so it's pretty easy for me to meet them!

      YOU NEED TO READ FANGIRL. I talk about it so often the people who read my blog are probably sick of it by now hahaha.

      Thank you!

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  2. "Prince Maxon Support Squad 2k15" CAN I JOIN THIS SQUAD, PLEASE!?! We need to write the review of these books, Nattttttt! ALSO STOP READING SO MUCH. I'm so curious about This Song Will Save Your Life ohhhhhhh, what are you doing to me. Still fangirling bc Luke HEMMINGS!!! Seems to me like it was a great month for you <3333333

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    1. YES you can join the squad!!!!!!!!! OPEN FOR ALL.

      I know ugh we need to do that ASAP so I can schedule it and be happy. You should read it!!! I thought it would be focused really heavily on the romance but it's not at all it's about a girl who finds something that she loves and she wants to do everything she can to make sure that she's the best at it - it's GREAT.

      It has been a great month - thank you! <3

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