Friday 31 July 2015

#TBRTakedown 2.0 last day and what I have read...

Hello,
So I have not finished all of the books I wanted to but I feel like I made a good attempt!

I managed to finish Legend by Marie Lu on the first day as it was a quick graphic novel. I can see why people love her novels so much.

On the second and third day I read ella minnow pea by Mark Dunn and finished that off, it was a really interesting and quirky read!

Next, I read Soulless by Gail Carriger which I finished yesterday but in between reading the last too books I also read: LOW volume 1 and Mr. Men in London.

I am currently over half way through The Book of Lillit by Rober Brown which is a strange but also interesting read. I hope to finish this book tonight.

Unfortunately, I didn't manage to read This Shattered World but I am putting that on top of my TBR list.

I hope you all managed to read all your chosen books,
Sofiee



An Unespected Book Crawl Around London

My boyfriend and myself decided to have a day in London and didn't know what to do. We tried to visit some interesting bookshops so without further ado here are the shops and books bought:

Persephone Books
William-an Englishman by Cicely Hamilton
(Recommended by the bookseller!)

The Persephone Book of Short Stories

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred  Watson
(This is a movie and I didn't know...)

Foyles 
The Days and Nights of London Now-As Told by Those Who Love It, Hate It, Live It, Left It an Long for it LONDONERS by Craig Taylor

Suicide Squad by Adam Glass et all

Mr. Men in London by Roger Hargreaves
(Just because)

Orbital Comics
LOW Volume 1 by Remender Tocchini

Death Note (Black Edition) by Tsugumi Ohba

Waterstones
Armada by Ernest Cline

The Runaway by Elizabeth Anne Hart (A £1 clearance from Persephone books!)

Now for a book buying ban!
Sofiee

Friday 24 July 2015

MINI REVIEW: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J.Maas *No Spoilers*

I read this book for TheBookLife's (www.thebooklife.co.uk) readalong for July. There will be a live show on the August 1st at 9PM UK time/4PM EST time.

Here are my thoughts on the novel:

When I first started reading A Court of Thrones and Roses I thought that I wouldn't like due to the description. However, as I got used to Maas' writing style (this was the first book I have read of hers) I really, really enjoyed the novel.

The story is about a young woman named Feyre whose family lost their fortune and their Mother. Feyre has to hunt for meat and one day comes across a wolf and shoots it dead. However, this wolf was actually a magical creature and killing a magical creature is forbidden. She has to pay the price for her crimes...

This plot if full of twists and some very interesting sub plots. I absolutely love the love story too...

I would definitely recommend this book :)
Sofiee

Birthday Book Haul!

On the 20th of July I turned 21! I got given and bought some books that I thought I would share with you :) On my birthday I went to Paris and went to the Shakespeare and Co bookshop were some of these books are from.

Legend: A Graphic Novel by Marie Lu (reading for the #TBRTakedown)

New Suicide Squad: Volume one Pure Insanity

YOU by Caroline Kepnes

The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

How To Run Your Home Without Help by Kay Smallshaw (Persephone books on sale!)

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Notre-Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo

HATE a romance by Tristan Garcia

5 to 1 by Holly Bodger

Pulchritude by Ana Mardoll

ODY-C Vol 1 - Off To Far Ithicaa by Matt Fraction and Christian Ward

Shakespeare and Company book

If you have read any of these or want to review let me know :)
Sofiee


#TBRTakedown 2.0 tbr...

In preparation for the TBR Takedown readathon (midnight of 25th to 31st July) I have decided on a few books for the challenges. This readathon is lead by the lovely Leaninglights at https://twitter.com/leaninglights and youtube.

The challenges and books I have chosen are...

1) First book in a series
Soulless by Gail Carriger

2) Sequel book in a series
This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spoonner

3) Out of your comfort zone (genre, author ect)
The Book of Lilith by Dr. Robert G. Brown

4) On your shelf for over a year (or thee longest)
ella minnow pea: A novel without letters by Mark Dunn

5) Most recently hauled book
Legend: The Graphic Novel by Marie Lu

I am hoping to read most of these but I will be busy everyday during the time of the readathon!

Good luck book worms,
Sofiee

Wednesday 15 July 2015

My Hong Kong Adventure week two

Hong Kong Adventures continued...

Day Eight
Today we went to Ocean Park, a theme park and zoo situated half on the peak of a mountain. We started at the bottom, called 'The waterfront', where most of the animals are kept. We saw pandas and red pandas (my favourite), then saw the fishes. We went on the sea life carousel too.

After this we got the cable car to 'The Summit' to see the sharks and dolphins. Did a log flume called 'Raging River' that had a rather large drop... The 'The Rapids' was the other water ride where we sat in a large rubber ring with seating whilst being sprayed with water, very refreshing! We walked to the Arctic Zone for the 'South Pole Spectacular' (penguins) and the 'North Pole Spectacular' (walrus and sea lions). The final ride we went on was 'Arctic Blast', a very high speed roller-coaster and went around twice :S.

We saw a ocean show with amazing dolphins and two walruses. I wanted to get the train down the mountain instead of the cable car so we did that, the train was made to look very futuristic. Then to finish the trip we visited to bakery and souvenir shop.

Day Nine
One of our friends was going home this day so we decided to do something not too far from the apartment. We got a tram to the top of the Peak (further up the Peak than we were staying) and got a cheeky Starbucks, then did some souvenir shopping.

We had an earlier dinner of pizza and then got the taxi to take our friend to the train station to go to the airport. The remaining two of us went to Happy Valley horse racing course. Shared a jug of beer and watched the racing and then the Brazilian dancers.

Day Ten 
Had a lay in and then went to Joy Ocean to try foot reflexology which was a strange experience as the masseuse was hitting my calf muscle during the massage. We did a spot of shopping and then had Vietnamese for dinner, Pho Tia (beef soup), soo good! After we went to TST to see the light show where some of the buildings on the main land light up in time to the music.

Day Eleven
This was the day I was excited about! Going to Disneyland! We got the Disney train which was pimped out with mickey mouse handlebars and all.

We started in 'Adventure land', based around the story of Tarzan, there was a boat ride and a walk around Tarzan's tree house. Later we went back to this land to see 'The Festival of the Lion King' which is much like the West End Show I believe.

We moved to 'Grizzly Gulch' for the 'Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine', a roller-coaster that also went backwards. We came back to go on this ride again later too, one of my favourites!

Next land after this one was 'Mystic Manor', a ride that was electric seating that moved around the house showing artefacts coming to life. We also came back to this ride.

After was 'Toy Story land' for a ride called 'Slinky Dog Spin'. Then I went to 'Andy's Toy box' to get a souvenir.

For lunch we walked to 'Tomorrowland' and we went to 'Star liner Diner'.

Back-tracked to 'Fantasyland' for: 'It's a Small World', 'Mad Hatter Teacups', 'Cinderella Carousel', 'The mainly Adventures of Winnie the Pooh' and finally 'Mickey's PhilharMagic' (a 3D movie).

Then, we went back to 'Tomorrowland' to go on the rides there. I was forced onto 'Space Mountain' which actually wasn't too bad in the darkness. After that my throat was aching from screaming too much! We did 'Autopia' but this was a very boring driving track.

Finished the night watching a parade and eating a Mickey Mouse waffle.. yum!

Day Twelve
This day was spent walking through Causeway Bay looking for a particular present that my brother wanted, they didn't have the present in the end. We got to have some ice cream in a Haagen-Dazs shop though so all was okay.

Day Thirteen
Went back to Stanley for a lazy beach day and got another two bags in the market. We had drinks at Vern's Beach Bar, an american style bar.

Day Fourteen
Home day :'(
Luckily my case didn't weight too much! Had to leave the apartment around 6am to get the Airport Express to the Airport. Then 13 hours later I was back home!

Hope you enjoyed reading about my trip!
Sofiee



Tuesday 14 July 2015

My Hong Kong Adventure week one

We did some much within the two weeks that we went away for so I thought I would break it up into two posts...

Day One
Got Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong airport. I didn't realise how many classes there could be on a airline! I was in economy of course. Twleve-ish hours later and we made it. We had a quick shower and went out for a Chinese ;).

Day Two
We stayed on the Peak so there were quite a few steps down to get to the station. Our first day was spent at Stanley Island, where we saw the Pak Tai temple. We ate a really good salad and sandwich at Stanley's Cave, then browsed the market.
On the way back to the flat we got an ice cream with toppings that was smushed together as if rolling dough... very interesting. After we got a cheeky holiday cocktail from a bar called Lotus in SOHO.

Day Three
We planned to get up early so we could get the escalators down the Peak (they stop going down at 10am and then starting running up). However, we didn't make it in time. We got a ferry to Lama Island where I got sea sick! We walked through the island to the beach, here we swam to the pontoon and I struggled a bit to swim back... The rest of the walk took us an hour to get to the other side of the island. Then we stopped for an Indian meal at the waterfront. After this we went back to the apartment.

Freshened up to go to the Night market where we got some goodies and got a drink at Castro's (I had a Mai Tai).  

Day Four
Today was Big Buddha day which meant getting a train to Tung Chung and then a cable car (fear of heights kicked in!) to the top of the mountain. We went to a traditional tea shop and had a rose black tea and a jasmine flower tea. Our server was being trained so the whole sequence of tea making took a while. After our refreshment we walked up the 200 steps to the Big Buddha and had a nosey around. Downstairs we saw the Po Lin Monastery.

The next part of our day was to catch a coach to Tai O to go see the pink dolphins... however, we didn't manage to see any :'(.

Got back to the apartment to get ready for a night on the town! We had Thai for dinner at Koh Thai, they have a-mazing green curry. Them, we went to a pub called  Stormies in Lang Wai for drinks and jelly shot syringes. We decided to go out clubbing and picked Deja Vu for the music, we danced and made some friends.  

Day Five
After the night before we decided to have a lazier day so we visited the Zoological gardens to see some animals and a hollow water fountain. We then got the MTR to Mong Kok for the Ladies' market where I managed to buy four bags... eeek.
That night we had Mexican food (very multi-cultural food trip) and got some more drinks.

Day Six
Dragons's Back walk in Shek O day. This was a two hour hike over rocks and the trail is meant to resemble a dragon's back in shape and colour. However, it did rain halfway through which was refreshing but made the ground slippery.
After we hydrated on beer (not a good idea) and got Thai food again. We had a quite night in after all the walking.

Day Seven 
We managed to get a lot done on this day... We started at the Nan Lian Gardens and had a wander round. The gardens led to the 'Nunnery' in Chi Lin where the doors have steps to get into a room in order for the devil not to enter as they believe the devil cannot jump.
After we had lunch which was Dim Sum (the guide book said to try it) in a veggie restaurant and we sat inside a water fountain! Then,
we made our way to Wing Tai and visited the Temple which was very pretty, I especially like the little bridge. Got the train to Sha Tin to the 10,000 Buddha's Monastery. Some of the status looked almost comical, with eyebrows down to their feet and one very long arm. There was a lot of steps to do here too and got the Star Ferry, the oldest ferry company in Hong Kong, to Central. We got burgers for dinner at Wagyu (really good food).
P.S. I bought a Moon cake... it was gross.

The Big Buddha... excuse my face.



That is the end of my Hong Kong trip part one, stay tuned for part two!
Sofiee

REVIEW: To Catch a Rabbit by Helen Cadbury *NO SPOILERS*

I would like to start this review by thanking the author, Helen Cadbury (awesome name by the way), for sending me a copy. This will be an honest review and no spoilers.

Firstly, the front cover makes a great first impression and especially as I was hesitant to read a crime novel as I don't usually enjoy them.
We follow the lives of Sean Denton, 'Doncaster's youngest PCSO'. I felt that he was a very relatable and sometimes awkward character. However, we really see him grow as a person throughout this book. Then, there is Karen who is probably my favourite character in this book. Early on in the novel we find out her brother is missing and her story and Sean's case mix together.

The crimes are all to do with the sex trade which makes the story, although quite dark, a very interesting read. Helen's descriptive writing is so engaging and I could really imagine a lot of the action as if it was in-front of me.

It was a quick paced book and a absolute delight to read for a review. I am really looking forward to the next instalment!

I might start reading some more crime novels!
Sofiee

Monday 13 July 2015

#CramAThon Wrap up

Hello little book worms,

I hope you are all doing well.
I have half an hour to go until the cramathon stops in England. I thought I would do a wrap up now as I don't think many more books will be read!

Here are the crams...
- We won't see Auschwitz
Based on the author's trip to Poland to find out more about his Grandmother's heritage. Interesting but at I felt that some parts were unnecessary and confusing. Great art work.

- Very Good Lives
J.K. Rowling's very inspirational speech written down with nice illustrations too. An uplifting read.

- Anthem for Doomed Youth
Poems from Wilfred Owen; nostalgic of A Level English.

- Peter Rabbit library
Loved these books and managed to sail through all twelve (they are very small). The illustrations are brilliant too. The protagonist are very "British".

- Rat Queens volume two
Even better than the first volume and the plot is getting saucy...

- The Wicked the the Divine volume two
A bit confused from this as the ending left a massive cliff hanger! Waiting for the next instalment.

- The Time Machine
I've read most of this. I am over half way and I will try to finish it before the end.

I have completed ALL of the challenges (just need to finish the novella... The Time Machine)!!!

Let me know what you read  :)
Sofiee

Saturday 11 July 2015

#CRAMATHON Update... halfway through!

Hello!
I am currently halfway through #CramAThon as it's Saturday night. So far I have read more than I thought I would.

- We won't see Auschwitz
- Very good lives
- Anthem for doomed youth
- Instead of two Peter Rabbit books I have managed to read the whole library :)

Next I will read the two comics that my boyfriend got for me earlier today and after that we shall see. I might try and find a novella to read! 

Keep reading!
Sofiee

Thursday 9 July 2015

#CramAThon starts!

Woke up at 7:40am (in Britain) and we couldn't decide when 12am on the 10th was... very awkward so I missed a bit of the readathon but now I'm cracking on!

I think I might start with the children's books :).
Happy reading,
Sofiee

(Down below is whittney's twitter page and a tweet from me)

#CRAMATHON

Hello lovelies,
I will be trying to cram-read as many books from midnight tomorrow until 11:59pm Sunday. This will be difficult as I am driving to Liverpool for the weekend!

The challenges to this readathon are:

1) Read a children's book
I have picked The Tale of Peter Rabbit and The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin by Beatrix Potter as they are easy reads. I have just been gifted the Beatrix book set for my birthday :)

2) Read a hardback
I have a copy of Very Good Lives by J.K. Rowling which I am very excited to read.

3) Read 2 books in 24 hours
This will most probably be the Beatrix Potter books

4) Read a graphic novel
We Won't See Auschwitz by Jeremie Dres has been on sitting on my shelf for a while and its a black and white comic style story.

5) Read a book written in verse
I chose one of the Penguin Black Classics, Anthem for Doomed Youth by Wilfred Owen. I really liked some of his poetry and I thought this would be a different kind of read for the readathon.

6) Read a novella
I haven't picked a novella yet as I think my little pile of books might be too much for a busy weekend away. However, if I manage to read one you will be updated!

7)) Read 5 books in total  
DONE.

Good luck and get reading...
Sofiee

Wednesday 8 July 2015

REVIEW: Princess Diaries Royal Wedding By Meg Cabot *NO SPOILERS*

So I was a bit dubious about picking this book up. An adult novel about Princess Diaries felt like it would ruin my childhood memories. However, I started reading and not only was it an easy read, it was very nostalgic. The only reason I wouldn't let a young teenager read this novel is because of some swearing and adult themes which I felt matched nicely with the age of the protagonist, 26. I liked that Cabot had the same diary layout for the final novel. Also, I liked that she used texting as a form of literature which added lots of humour and quickened the pace of the novel. There was some unexpected plot twists and one expected one... a proposal (hence the name 'Royal Wedding'). The unexpected ones I felt added even more drama and in the end happiness for the characters which was really uplifting to read.

I was sad to read the end of this series but the outcome for our Princess was the most heart warming and feel good ending. Overall I would definitely recommend any lover of Princess Diaries to read this novel or even if you just fancy a girlie novel to read. I read this on holiday and felt it was perfect for that environment :).

Happy reading,
Sofiee

Tuesday 7 July 2015

Top highlights in Amsterdam!

Our trip in lists:

Day one
1) The fact it took us 35 minutes in the plane
2) Amsterdam sign!
3) Ice bakery for a nutella and banana waffle - a good start to the trip
4) Sex museum - an awkward laugh
5) Hash, marijuana and hemp museum - interesting weed
6) The Ice bar - a shitter version of the London one
7) Baba's shwarma

Our hotel
Day two
1) Heineken museum - and a free boat ride
2) Canal bike - where we managed to scrap along side The Flying Dutchman with all the passengers laughing at us.
3) Bulldog cafe - a Dutch breakfast of: croissant, toast, ham, cheese, egg, butter, jam and nutella. We also had a herbal mix to smoke ;)
4) Amsterdam hat - we both got bobble hats with Amsterdam stitched onto the side, no regrets
5) MacDonald's pistachio milkshake - yum

Heineken... cheers




Day three
1) Anne Frank's house - we tried to find it the day before and found it just when it was closing. Turns out we were staying on the same road...
2) Museum of Prostitution - very interesting stuff
3) Argentinian steakhouse
4) Falafel shop - a takeaway dinner in the rain

Day four
1) Katten Kabinet - he made friends with a cat, purrr
2) Bagel and hot chocomel - my new favourite drink!
3) Vondel park and pancakes

Generally I had a fantastic time with the boyfriend and I would definitely visit again!
Sofiee