End of Year Review 2015!

I really enjoy writing these End of Year reviews as I have the tendency to catastrophize my life thanks to years of mental health problems. I have a habit of thinking that everything is a disaster and I've mucked everything up so I often feel like I waste my time and have had a rather shitty year. Doing these reviews allows me a rare glimpse of perspective and I can actually realise that despite a few hiccups I've generally had a really good year filled with lots of amazing things that I'm so lucky to experience. 

Here are a few things I've been lucky enough to experience/enjoy this year: 

• April- For Mine and Dan's 7th anniversary we went to London for the day, we browsed around countless bookshops and then watched WWE Raw Live in the evening which was amazing. 
• May - The end of my Second year and finally some closure for the first few bad months.
• June- 2015 was the year that I turned 21. I had an amazing birthday and my parents surprised me with a Canon DSLR something that I thought I would only be able to have after a years working full time. I am so grateful for all their continued support and for generally being the best parents ever. I also visited Cambridge with Dan and had another bookish day searching bookshops and generally enjoying the beautiful city.
• July- This year we were lucky enough to visit the beautiful island of Crete with my best friend and her boyfriend. Sun, Sea, Laughter and Drinks, what more can you ask for.
• August- Each year my mum, dad, family friend and I all head off to Jimmys Farm in Suffolk to watch theatre in the forest by the Red Rose Chain. Each year they put on 2 different plays and this year we went to see their unique interpretation of A Midsummers Night Dream. It was amazing!
• September- I began my final year of University at CCCU. It was an exciting time for me because it meant I was able to ignore the dramas of my second year and continue with my life. 
• October- I decided on my dissertation topic and finally got to grips with my blog and where I want to go with it (it's only taken you 2 and a half years Em but never mind eh?) 
• November- A turbulent month for me but nevertheless still filled with some happy memories mostly getting to spend so much time with my wonderful friend Roisin. I honestly don't know how I would cope at University without her. She is my rock and I love her. 
• December- December is always one of my favourite months because of Christmas. I got to spend time with my family, best friends at home Emma and Meghan and of course many days with Dan. 

You may notice I've missed out the beginning of 2015 and that's due to some unfortunate circumstances whilst I was at Uni. It was a tough time on me and I don't want to relive it as it really put me in a dark place that I'm finally able to say I'm out of and I want to stick to the positive today. 

I hope you've enjoyed today's post and all of the posts in 2015. I'm really hoping to be able to grow my blog in 2016 and I hope you stick with me for that journey. 

Thank you so much if you have been reading this year. 

I appreciate every one of you, every positive comment I receive makes me a stronger person and helps me to believe in myself just a little bit more each day and for that I can never thank you enough.

If you're interested in what I got up to in 2014 you can check that out here

NOTM - December Nails

Merry Christmas everyone!! I hope you all had a lovely couple of days whether you celebrated or not :) Today I thought I would share what I've been wearing on my nails for the past month.

Red Dots: Barry M 'Sparkling Ruby' & Barry M Nail Art Pen in White.
Red with Gold Accent: Barry M 'Sparkling Ruby' & Barry M 'Gold Confetti'
Neutral with Red Glitter: Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine in 'Almond' & Barry M 'Jingle Bells Glitter'
Red with Glitter: Lollipops 'Voyage a Paris' & Barry M 'Red Glitter'
Grey Glitter: Nails Inc 'Next Stop... The Bikini Zone' & Barry M 'Gold Glitter'
Red with Loads of Glitter/ Christmas Day Nails: Barry M 'Sparkling Ruby' with 'Jingle Bells Glitter' ' Christmas Tree Glitter'

Grandma's Recipes: Christmas Shortbread.

Who doesn't love shortbread at Christmas? 

A week or so ago I was very luckily given a book of my grandma's hand written recipes. This has so many recipes in that have been thoroughly tried and tested throughout the years and I feel so incredibly privileged to be the new owner of this little book. My Grandma is an amazing cook and although she isn't able to cook up these herself any more, I can recreate them as best as possible to keep her recipes and the family cooking going. What I thought would be great is to try out these recipes and document them on my blog not only for my own satisfaction but also because seriously some of these recipes are damn good and I think you would love them. 

So, as it's Christmas time I thought 'What goes down great at Christmas?.... SHORTBREAD!'. This is a really simple recipe that even a complete beginner in the kitchen can't muck up. These are so fool proof but look like they required effort. So without further ado, here is the first in the "Grandma's Recipes:" series...

Get Your Christmas On With Lush

Christmas is a time when Lush really up their game and pull out the big dogs. I don't know about you but to me there is nothing better than getting in a gloriously sparkling bath that smells both sweet and spicy and just remaining there for a good hour with a book; blissfully unaware of the Christmas-based-chaos that's occurring all around you. 

If I was to talk about all of my favourite Christmas Lush products from over the years I would be typing for the next millennia so to keep things short I've written about the products that are new to me this year and that I'm excited to try out myself over the Christmas period. 

Naked 3 Dupe? W7 In The Nude Eye Shadow Palette

We've all heard of the amazing and highly coveted Naked Palettes by Urban Decay. But most of us (like myself) just can't justify spending £30+ on an Eye-shadow Palette and so rely on the generosity of family members at special occasions. Well now W7 have released an amazingly similar product that dare I say could even be called a dupe and what's even better is that it is a fraction of the price coming in at only £9.99! 

myDermacenter Gift Set

I am a sucker for a bargain, so when I was asked if I would share this awesome deal with you guys I just couldn't say no. This December myDermaCenter have got an amazing deal on their site. Spend £45 on these awesome brands: La Roche Posay, Roger & Gallet, Vichy & SkinCeuticals and you will receive this awesome Deluxe Gift Set for FREE?! This is such an amazing deal and if you know you're going to be purchasing some skincare over the festive season then why not order from myDermaCenter and get an amazing freebie as well!

Not For Your Table: The Roger & Gallet Christmas Cracker.

Beauty themed Christmas Crackers seem to be everywhere this year. From Nuxe to Nails Inc there seems to be a lot floating around and I was lucky enough to receive one from Roger & Gallet to show you guys. 

Top 5 Festive Films!

Christmas is the time to get snuggled up on the sofa, hot chocolate in hand, fire place on and a festive film on your television. I love it. 

I feel like festive films are the best of all film genres. There is nothing quite as hilarious and yet equally as touching as a good Christmas film. They lift your spirits and remind you of what's important in life, family.

Here are my Top 5 (ish) Festive Films - in no particular order: 

• Miracle On 34th Street (1994)- This is one of my mums favourite Christmas films and I grew up watching it. I've always loved the moral behind this story and it's a timeless film - Richard Attenborough is the ultimate Santa (or Kris Kingle!) if you ask me. A truly heart-warming classic that can't fail to put you in that festive mood!
• Elf - I'm sorry. I know EVERY Christmas film post is going to include this film isn't it? I could have left it out but let's be honest everyone enjoys this film. Buddy the Elf is brilliantly funny, and all ages will love this movie. A total 'pick me up' film when you're feeling a little run down from the Christmas mayhem!
• Home Alone & Home Alone 2 - Okay so this is two films but they're the same franchise sooooo..... never mind! Home Alone is a yearly tradition for my family. Every year without fail when Mum and I put up the Christmas decorations up we watch the Home Alone films. It's sort of ridiculous but we could probably act the film out ourselves we've watched it so often!  "Buzz your girlfriend... Woof." < A family favourite. 
• The Grinch - This is a personal favourite for me. I have always loved this film and I will watch it at least 10 times in the festive season. Jim Carey is very love/hate but I find him hilarious and this never fails to get me giggling despite the fact that I know all the jokes!
• The Hogfather by Terry Pratchett - Sadly I don't have a physical copy of this film (yet!) but The Hogfather is part of the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett that was televised on Sky 1 a few years back. It's a comedic wacky take on our Christmas but instead it is called Hogswatch with The Hogfather taking place of Santa Claus. The film also features the tooth fairy, the O'God of Hangovers, the Verruca Gnomes and many more ridiculous and wonderful things. If you want an alternative to the traditional Christmas film then this is the film for you!

I hope you've found a new film to watch this Christmas or maybe even the urge to revisit an old one! Happy watching!

Let me know your favourite festive films down in the comments below!

Christmas Gift Guide - Stocking Fillers!

It's the last of this years Christmas Gift Guides! Today we're talking about stocking fillers and I have got some awesome ideas lined up for you!

Stocking fillers I think can be abit of an odd one because it really does depend on your budget. You could choose to get big bulky gifts that physically fill the stockings or you may choose little cute gifts. I've tried to give you a selection of sizes and prices to hopefully suit your personal needs! This is going to be unisex but you may find me leaning towards more feminine gifts - that's just because the ideas come more naturally to me, but I have tried to include things that I think guys will love as well!

/\ Although not this type of stocking filler. 

Christmas Gift Ideas For Him!

I think buying for men is a nightmare. Sometimes you just have no idea what to get them and the typical - pants, ties & socks combo can only be done a few times before the tedium sets in. 

Below are a few ideas that I think would make amazing presents for the men in your life this Christmas. 

Chirstmas Gift Ideas For Her!

It's the most wonderful time of the yearrrr! 

Credit: LINK

It's The End of NaNoWriMo!

Well it's the end of NaNoWriMo and people worldwide have collected their winning certificates and have a feeling of immense pride and joy. I am not one of them. 

I had high hopes for the NaNoWriMo challenge and wrote the required 1,669 words on the first day with ease, I thought to myself "whoa if its this easy all the way through I can do this in no time". I was wrong. 

As I sit and shamefully type to you my little Scrivner document sits lowly at a meagre 3,810 words. I didn't even make it to 5,000. Now there are many reasons for my ultimate failure of a month but the most pressing one was the fact that my Dissertation Proposal was due in this month and I spent pretty much everyday until the 20th obsessing over it. On top of this I had a tonne of reading and secondary reading to do for my course and a load of research to do for my dissertation so this month has been pretty hectic. Doing all of that and making sure my blog was still running as well meant that in my free time I pretty much just wanted to have a bath and go to sleep. 

To be honest this month its been difficult enough just to stay sane, let alone write a novel! 

But I'm actually not feeling that bad about it to be honest. Yeah so I might have failed NaNoWriMo, but do you know what? Without participating in NaNoWriMo I wouldn't have almost 4,000 words of my first attempt at a novel already written down. I wouldn't have a comprehensive plan mapped out of all my story allowing me to dip in and out of writing whenever I feel and I wouldn't have realised how much I enjoy being able to sit down and write a few hundred words here and there of my story.

So technically my attempt at NaNoWriMo failed massively. But personally NaNoWriMo has been a great success for me because it has pushed me into doing something that I never thought I was creative enough to do. 

How did you NaNoWriMo experience go? Did you take part or are you planning to next year?

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Top Anticipated Books for 2016!

As it's coming towards the end of the year I thought now would be the perfect time to chat about what books I'm excited for in 2016. If you regularly read my blog some of these will not be a surprise to you, but I've included a couple of new series as well that look A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. 

A Court Of Mist And Fury By Sarah J. Mass.

Release date: 3rd May 2016

This is a sequel to the hugely popular "A Court Of Thorns And Roses" a high fantasy novel focusing around a strong female character called Feyre and her life dealing with the Fae that live segregated away from the humans. Feyre becomes mixed up with the Fae after an unfortunate incident and then has to spend her life with the Fae and never see her human family again... that's when things get interesting! 

This novel is carrying on Feyre's story and I for one can't wait to get my hands on this!!

A Gathering Of Shadows By V.E. Schwab

Release date: 23rd February 2016

I can't even. If you read my blog you will know how much I rave about A Darker Shade Of Magic. I am BEYOND excited about this release. I'm not going to give you much background other than its an Adult High Fantasy. ADSOM is amazing and I thoroughly recommend you check it out! You wont be disappointed! 

Glass Sword By Victoria Aveyard

Release date: February 9th 2016

Another sequel, Glass Sword is the follow up novel from Red Queen. Red Queen hit the world by storm earlier this year and everyone and their mother was raving about this book. Rightly so in my opinion as I loved Red Queen and the plot twist at the very end left me craving more. I will be rushing out for this sequel in February. 

The Crowns Game By Eyelyn Syke

Release date: May 17th 2016

This will be Sykes début novel and I for one am super excited for it. Here is the blurb ....

"Vika Andreyeva can summon the snow and turn ash into gold. Nikolai Karimov can see through walls and conjure bridges out of thin air. They are enchanters—the only two in Russia—and with the Ottoman Empire and the Kazakhs threatening, the Tsar needs a powerful enchanter by his side.
And so he initiates the Crown’s Game, an ancient duel of magical skill—the greatest test an enchanter will ever know. The victor becomes the Imperial Enchanter and the Tsar’s most respected adviser. The defeated is sentenced to death.
Raised on tiny Ovchinin Island her whole life, Vika is eager for the chance to show off her talent in the grand capital of Saint Petersburg. But can she kill another enchanter—even when his magic calls to her like nothing else ever has?
For Nikolai, an orphan, the Crown’s Game is the chance of a lifetime. But his deadly opponent is a force to be reckoned with—beautiful, whip smart, imaginative—and he can’t stop thinking about her.
And when Pasha, Nikolai’s best friend and heir to the throne, also starts to fall for the mysterious enchantress, Nikolai must defeat the girl they both love . . . or be killed himself.
As long-buried secrets emerge, threatening the future of the empire, it becomes dangerously clear . . . the Crown’s Game is not one to lose."

The Shadow Queen By C.J. Redwine

Release date: February 23rd 2016

I've personally never read anything by Redwine before but this new series of hers has really sparked my interest. A set of standalone (but linked) fantasy fairy tale retellings. I cannot wait to get my hands on this book! Here's the blurb... 

 Lorelai Diederich, crown princess and fugitive at large, has one mission: kill the wicked queen who took both the Ravenspire throne and the life of her father. To do that, Lorelai needs to use the one weapon she and Queen Irina have in common—magic. She’ll have to be stronger, faster, and more powerful than Irina, the most dangerous sorceress Ravenspire has ever seen.

In the neighboring kingdom of Eldr, when Prince Kol’s father and older brother are killed by an invading army of magic-wielding ogres, the second-born prince is suddenly given the responsibility of saving his kingdom. To do that, Kol needs magic—and the only way to get it is to make a deal with the queen of Ravenspire, promise to become her personal huntsman…and bring her Lorelai’s heart.

But Lorelai is nothing like Kol expected—beautiful, fierce, and unstoppable—and despite dark magic, Lorelai is drawn in by the passionate and troubled king. Fighting to stay one step ahead of the dragon huntsman—who she likes far more than she should—Lorelai does everything in her power to ruin the wicked queen. But Irina isn’t going down without a fight, and her final move may cost the princess the one thing she still has left to lose.

This Savage Song By Victoria Schwab

Release date: June 7th 2016

Oh you know how much love I have for Schwab! 

Here's the blurb...

The city of Verity has been overrun with monsters, born from the worst of human evil. In North Verity, the Corsai and the Malchai run free. Under the rule of Callum Harker, the monsters kill any human who has not paid for protection. In the South, Henry Flynn hunts the monsters who cross the border into his territory, aided by the most dangerous and darkest monsters of them all—the Sunai, dark creatures who use music to steal their victim’s souls.
As one of only three Sunai in existence, August Flynn has always wanted to play a bigger role in the war between the north and the south. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate Harker, daughter of the leader of North Verity, August jumps on it.
When Kate discovers August’s secret, the pair find themselves running for their lives and battling monsters from both sides of the wall. As the city dissolves into chaos, it’s up to them to foster a peace between monsters and humans.
A unique, fast-paced adventure that looks at the monsters we face every day—including the monster within

That's all for today's post! I hope you enjoyed it and hopefully you've found a couple of books to add to your wish list as well!

NOTM - November Nails

Another month has flown past and I've not really painted my nails much to be honest! 

This month I've been working on my dissertation proposal, trying (and failing) to do NaNoWriMo -more on that next time and attempting to keep up with my ridiculous amount of reading for University but actually being successful and getting through all of my reading for this term 2 weeks early! Woo me! 

So I've not really had a lot of free time and my nails have been chipped and grim more often then not! But I'm hoping to paint them a lot in December with all sorts of festive colours and designs! 

The picture on the left is: Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine in Chilli with a Matte Top-coat 

The picture on the right is: Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine in Plum 

Most Disappointing Books I've Read So Far This Year.

Disappointing books is actually a really hard post for me to write, 9/10 I really enjoy what I read because over the years I've become pretty good at determining whether or not I'm going to like a book from the front cover. But here are a few that just managed to slip through the net. PLEASE bear in mind that this is just my own personal opinion and you may completely disagree with what I say but that's OKAY. It's the beauty of literature, two people can read the same book and have completely different experiences with it!

1. The Sin Eater's Daughter - Oh I had such high hopes for this book! To be honest it was a cover buy. I think this cover is beautiful and I thought the story sounded interesting. Sadly I found it to leave me feeling really disappointed. My main problem with this novel is the incredibly irritating main character Twylla. She doesn't ever question anything that happens to her and the story is really slow until the last 100 or so pages. Will I pick up the sequel? Possibly, but I've got loads of books sitting on my shelves that I want to read before. 

2. Jane Eyre - Okay, so this is probably really controversial but I HATE this novel with a passion. I can't even finish it the furthest I've gotten is about 60% through before getting so pissed off that I put it down and gave up once and for all. I can't explain exactly why I don't like it but I've tried multiple times to get into this novel and it's never happened.

3. Shatter Me - Another massive disappointment. Shatter Me should be a great book. The storyline is cool, the characters (particularly Warner) are good. The downside for me... the writing. The writing style in my opinion is unbearable. It makes me feel like the author has learnt a whole tonne of narrative techniques and is vomiting them out onto the page in the hopes that it sounds artistic. The use of elaborate metaphors in every other sentence and the annoying repetition. Annoying repetition. Annoying repetition. (<< Do you see how annoying that is?!) Made this read almost torturous. This is really sad because plot wise I liked this book and I am interested in seeing what happens next but I just don't know whether I can stomach any more of that flowery writing.

That's all for today's post. A little bit of a moan but hey, I'm English and we do love a good moan.  

What books have disappointed you this year? 

Let me know in the comments below!

REVIEW: The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time

"Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. And he detests the colour yellow.

Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, for fifteen-year-old Christopher everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning. He lives on patterns, rules, and a diagram kept in his pocket. Then one day, a neighbour's dog, Wellington, is killed and his carefully constructive universe is threatened. Christopher sets out to solve the murder in the style of his favourite (logical) detective, Sherlock Holmes. What follows makes for a novel that is funny, poignant and fascinating in its portrayal of a person whose curse and blessing are a mind that perceives the world entirely literally"

This is one the better books I've read this year. Following a boy called Christopher who has Autism and finds his next door neighbours dog dead. The book is entirely from Christopher's point of view and so you get a "diary" style novel. The chapters are numbered with prime numbers that makes it  really feel like this is Christopher's book. The novel focuses on some heart wrenching topics and can make you cry just as easily as it makes you laugh. If you're looking for a touching novel that is meaningful but enjoyable then I would thoroughly recommend this read. 

Reading - Why I Think People Should Read More

I hope you're comfy and have a warm drink because this is going to be a long one.

Mid-Way Mark NaNoWriMo

MID-WAY MARK!

So how am I getting on I hear you ask... the truth is, terribly. 

I thought it would be easy to devote a few hours a day to writing but it's really not! So far I have written around 3,000 words which is crap for the 15th day into it. However, I'm not a quitter and I will have some more free time coming up towards the end of the month which will allow me to devote myself to writing. 

How are you getting on with NaNoWriMo if you decided to part take? Is the challenge more difficult then you expected or are you smashing the word counts? 

Top 4 Fantasy Novels

Fantasy is by far one of my favourite Genres which made choosing these books so difficult, I tried to go for 4 completely different types of fantasy book to show off the vast array of fantastic fantasy literature there is out there ready for you to read! 

The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett

When I think of Fantasy I immediately think of Pratchett's Discworld novels. The Discworld is a high fantasy world in which magic exists and because of that all sorts of hilarious things happen through the different characters. The Light Fantastic is the 2nd novel in the set but there is actually 41 books of the Discworld which span over several different storyline's containing countless characters. This is such a great way to get started with fantasy as well as the early books aren't very long!

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

I'm pretty sure you must be living in a hole if you've not heard of Game of Thrones yet but just in case you have no idea what its about - GOT is a high fantasy that runs multiple storyline's throughout the world that all manage to interlink in some way at different points throughout the series. If your looking for murder, betrayal, sex, brutality, swearing and more death then check out this series! Personally I love it but these books take me a really long time to get through with the second in the series taking me 7 months to finish!

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

This is a YA/New Adult Fantasy which of course means it's centred partially around a love storyline but it is also set in an awesome world where humans unhappily co-exist with faeries and there is a lot going on that makes this novel really stand out from the rest. I adored this book and read it super quickly. If you're looking for a fantasy read that isn't as heavy as GOT or as long and engrossing as the Discworld novels then perhaps this is for you!

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

I know, I know, I really don't shut up about this book. I force this book on everyone. I feel like I don't need to explain it again as I talk about it so often, but I will. ADSOM is a novel about Kell a guy that is one of the last of a dying breed of travellers who can walk in between parallel worlds which each have a different level of magic in them (Red London, Black London, White London and Grey London) whilst he's in Grey London he meets a pirate girl called Lila and that's when the fun really begins! 

Top 5 Young Adult Reads

Young Adult is probably one of the most varied and accessible genres. Aimed at age 12 and up these books are great for teens and adults alike. Don't be fooled by their placement next to the kiddies books in most bookshops, these novels are perfectly suitable for adults to read and offer really interesting rich stories. 

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

This YA novel is firmly set in the realm of Sci-Fi. Following a female protagonist who is dealing with life on her own after the apocalypse. This dystopian novel keeps you guessing and makes your heart race. A great read!

The Duff by Kody Keplinger 

The Duff has recently been made into a movie that is completely different to this book?!! That being said I love both. The film was enjoyable and the book was hilarious and touching, I read this cover to cover in one sitting. It's a super quick read and I feel like most people would enjoy this book.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

 Cinder is a retelling of Cinderella but with a Cyborg twist. Really interesting concept and the writing is brilliant. Very Enjoyable read.

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige 

A slightly controversial book, mainly to do with the practises of the publisher Full Fathom Five who are essentially the literary equivalent of a sweat shop. That aside I enjoyed this book for it's writing, addictive story line and its twist on the classic Wizard of Oz.  

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

A new release earlier this year, this book was extremely hyped. Personally I agreed with the hype and I loved the book. Lots of betrayal, love and action with a kick ass heroine. Really great novel and the cover is just beautiful. 

That's all for this post! What YA reads do you love?