Sunday, April 30, 2017

April Wrap Up

Welcome

Back to another Wrap Up.  This month I didn't read a lot. I only managed to read two books. 




Lock and Key. Sarah Dessen 
Check ✔️ I did a whole review on it which you can see HERE. But just a quick overview. I loved it



Scarlet. Marissa Meyer 
The second book in the Lunar Chronicles book series. I have started it in April but I think it will be a while before I finish it



Everyone Worth Knowing. Lauren Wiesberger. 
nope not even thought about reading it. I am no where near finished Scarlet. 



Dustin Baby
Jacqueline Wilson
✔️. Ok so the book wasn't on my TBR for the month but I was have difficulty getting in to Scarlet that I wanted something quick and simple and nothing says quick and simple as a book I read when I was younger. 





Lauren
xoxo

Saturday, April 29, 2017

Casting JonBenet Netflix Review

Casting JonBenet
Netflix Review
3*

Well that's an hour and twenty minutes of life that I will never get back. I was surprised that it was good, but I was impressed by it. 

THE GOOD POINTS

What I liked about the documentary was that they used local actors. Each 'role' was filled with numerous actors and throughout the whole thing each actor/actress would read a section of script that was in front of them.  

There are many theories about what happened that night and each of the male and females were paired together to do different scenarios about those theories. 

I liked the ending where they were acting out the theories in rooms (if you watch/or have watched it you'll understand it better). 

I liked how they used local actors from the Denver Colorado area. It felt as if it gave more authentic feeling to the story. 


THE BAD POINTS

Jonbenet is a vital part of the story, as it's about her, and I felt that they spent little time on actually casting her for it and to much time on the actors that would fill up the roles of everyone else.

Over acting in some places. I thought that some of the males in particular ones that would be cast as John over acted in the role play section of when he found his daughter.  

MY UNSURE PARTS

I wasn't to sure on why the actors and actresses were putting their 'two cents' into their own theories about what happened to JonBenet that night. It was good but not good at the same point. 

Overall I wanted to give a higher rating for the it but couldn't because the bad points overshadowed the good points but it is something to watch. 


Lauren
xox

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Authors I want to read more from || Top 5 Wednesday April 2017

Welcome
To my only Top 5 Wednesday of April. This months top 5, has been hard. I very rarely read anything that would be considered anything science fiction or fantasy that I could justify making a whole post about it. It's the same the LGBTQ books. I haven't really read any, that I am aware of anyway, and I am not a big video game player. 



Dorothy Koomson 
I wanna be that wierd fan Girl and own all her books at some point or another because I love them so much. 





Sarah Dessen
I'm on the fence about Sarah Dessen's books that I want to read more by her to be 





Morgan Matson
Again I am on the fence with Morgan Matson. I didn't dislike SYBG, but I didn't love it either. 





Jenny Han
With Jenny Han it's a difficult one. I wasn't in love with To All The Boys I've Loved Before and am worried about reading other books by her for that simple fact. But that's also the upside. She has other books that I want to read to see if they are better.  





Nicholas Sparks
I have a few books by Nicholas sparks and I enjoy them.  It's just that I want to read more of them.  



There we are for this month. Let's hope I have better luck with May's T5W

Lauren
xoxo

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Books I liked less then I thought

Welcome back

Today's post is books I liked LESS then I thought. I did the one I liked more then I thought HERE. 

  • Fan Girl. Rainbow Rowell
It's not a bad book, don't get me wrong, but for me because everyone hyped it up I was expecting a lot more from it. And when it was what I expected from a book like this I wasn't disappointed by it I was disappointed by the fact that it was so hyped up for the fact there have been other books like it that haven't been so hyped up.  

  • To All The Boys I've Loved Before. Jenny Han
AHHHHHHH This book. Over hyped, badly written, obvious storyline, hated how short the chapters were. Way to many stereotypes. This book could have been so brilliant. 

  • Just Listen. Sarah Dessen. 
Ok, so I know I DNF'd this book because I disliked it that much. For me it was so confusing going back and forth with what happened in the past and what's going on now. I know I shouldn't judge a book that I DNF'd but sometimes you just have to 

  • Beneath The Glitter. Elle and Blair Fowler
With Beneath The Glitter I found that it was to much like the movie Material Girls with Hilary and Haylee Duff in it. I know it was supposed to be a loose basing of Elle and Blair at the time but I really wished for was something that wasn't a rip of another movie or book. I felt confused by which character was braised on which Fowler sister, (they seemed to have personalities of each sister)

  • Just One Year. Gayle Forman 
Just One Year was such a disappointment especially after how much I loved Just One Day. I found it boring and bland and really didn't like Willem that much. In this book he seemed a lot less adventurous. (I know that they meet up again) but I was left disappointed about how he got there. I feel his side of the story was weak where as Allysons was amazing. 



  • Twilight Saga
 Personally I didn't like the Twilight Saga. I enjoyed the first book Twilight don't get me wrong but it went downhill so quickly.  



There we are, books I liked LESS then I thought.


Lauren
xoxo


Thursday, April 20, 2017

Lock and Key Book Review

Welcome back

Today's post is a review on Sarah Dessen's book Lock and Key


Book: Lock and Key
Author: Sarah Dessen
Pages:422
Publisher: Speak
Genre: YA
Started: March 28th 2017
Finished: April 18th 2017
Goodreads Rating: 4*/5




ABOUT THE BOOK
17 year old Ruby moves in with her sister Cora and her husband Jamie after  her mum (also called ruby) leaves her home alone and disappeared. Ruby starts a new school where she doesn't feel like she fits in. She meets her neighbour Nate.  

REVIEW 
First thing was I was really nervous about reading a Sarah Dessen book. I tried to read Just Listen but I DNF'd it. 

I feel Ruby is such a strong willed character, whose mother didn't really encourage her in anyway so she wasn't really interested in doing things that most teens her age are thinking about such as applying to college. What I will say though Is she has a great work ethic. 

At first I didn't really like Cora that much. She seemed snobby, and if Ruby was in the way. But as time went on I liked her a lot more and actually felt sorry for her. 

Jamie I found so confusing. He set up a Facebook kind of website, he seems so care free and so opposite to Cora, yet is mad when Ruby does drugs and drinks. 

Nate seems so perfect to even be true.  But I like him. Kind of. He is one of those characters that I liked, then disliked, hated and then loved. 

The other high school aged characters seem like normal high school students. 

I actually enjoyed the book more then I thought I would have. I didn't know what to expect from the book at all and was worried about reading it as I didn't like Just Listen all that much. But as the book went on and you could understand the characters a bit more I liked it.  

Even though it is a part of the book it's not until the last half that it's even mentioned about the lock and key necklace. 

It is a very fast moving book but if you keep up you'll get the gist of it. 

What I liked about the romance in this book is that it shows another aspect of relationships not just they have feelings for each other that they don't act on. I liked how they help each other. That they would be better friends then as a couple, and that they didn't have to be in a relationship. 

One of the things that kept coming up was the English question that Ruby had asked herself in her class. Everyone has different views on questions that are asked, life, love etc. Ruby's question was What is Family?  I thought it was a good question because everyone has a family, but everyone's versions of family is different. 

I am someone who likes books that don't have a lot of chapters. Though most books I read are about the same amount of pages (around 400 or so pages) sometimes I feel small chapters can ruin the flow of a book. Where this one I found the chapters to be perfect. 

I could have easily finished the book before I did but this month I've decided not to rush through books. 

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Books I liked more then I thought

Welcome 
Back to my blog. Today's post is about books that I loved more then I thought I would. 
What I have noticed is that the books/authors I have in this post are books and authors that I haven't heard a lot about anywhere on the booktube community or seen anyone else blog about. 


Hate List. Jennifer Brown
I was so unsure about this book. But every time I walked into the bookstore I'd see it. It was like a magnetic or something. I was drawn to it. 



My Best Friends Girl. Dorothy Koomson
For my Dorothy Koomson can do no wrong. But with any author you always have to start somewhere and My Best Friends Girl was that book and I loved it. I wasn't sure about it like any book, but it's one of those books that I can re read and love all over again. Every book by Dorothy Koomson I've read after that has never ever disappointed.  


Rules of Summer/Since Last Summer. Joanna Philbin
I want sure about the books. I had read The Daughters series, and while I enjoyed it I enjoyed the Rules of Summer duology a lot more. 



My Life Next Door. Huntley Fitzpatrick 
I'm not sure if I like this because I read it after reading an awful book, or if I actually enjoyed it, but I enjoyed the fact that even though there was an obvious attraction between the main two characters and the storyline is pretty much how most summer YA books goes but I liked it a lot more then most of the other YA books. 


One Day. David Nichols
I try not to watch movies before the book but I did on this occasion, and when I read the book l enjoyed it a lot more then I thought I would have. 


Lauren
xoxo


Friday, April 14, 2017

Tips For New Bloggers

Welcome
To my blog. Today's post is some tips for any new bloggers. I've been blogging on and off since 2010. My first ever blog (now deleted) was for my college elective. I did about a semesters worth of blogging and then deleted it.  This blog did have some other posts on it, but I deleted them all about two years ago because I wasn't happy with them. I carried on using this blog though and over the last two years I have seen a major change in the way I've blogged.




- Pick a name that isn't to complicated



You should pick the name of your blog as if you are naming your child. Don't make it to complicated. As long as you are blogging you will have that name. It's your brand.



- Social media





There is a lot of social media out there nowadays, use it to your advantage. You can link your blog up to it all, so if you have followers on twitter make sure that you link your blog to twitter, even put a link in your twitter profile. Make a post on instagram, Facebook, tumblr, Snapchat or any other social media every time you do a post. Also don't make your social media name complicated. Use the same name across the board. Also you can find blog related twitter pages to follow. Don't be scared. Follow them all



- Bloglovin

Bloglovin is a great app/website to keep track of all the blogs you love and read.  It's also a place where people can follow your blog as well.



- don't go into it thinking your going to make money


Don't think that right away you are going to make money. It takes time, and in the beginning it will seem that you are spending more then you are making, but keep going.



- Pick a topic you are interested in.

If you want to write about books, makeup, life, travel, everyday things do it then do it, but remember you don't have to be limited to just that subject. If you are a book blogger you can also talk about what make up your liking at the moment. Or if you want to do a post that you have a strong connection to then do it. Your blog is your own. If something is important enough in your life you want to write and post it, just do it.




- Don't compare yourself to others

It's so easy to compare yourself to other people, but you are your own person, if you like something that others don't that's ok and vice versa it's your blog not theirs




- Don't think everything will happen over night

It can happen over night, but sometimes it can take weeks, months or even years. Keep going. Keep grounded.



- Pictures and editing apps

I take my pictures with my cell phone and then edit them on it as well. I personally use three different apps to edit my pictures. I use layout which is an istagram photo editor, and also Photo blur for the first picture.  There are so many photo editors/layouts and the way I chose what was best for me was I dowloaded a lot and what ever one felt good and was easy go use was the one I went with. Also with pictures if you are not using your own make sure your letting your audience know at the end of the post


- Write down your ideas on the note app on your phone


To plan out my posts i use my note app that comes on my phone. I have folders for everything from my TBR, to my Wrap Up, any blog posts that I want to write about that isn't related to books to Top 5 Wednesday, that way I know where I am and don't have to keep looking for something in a long pile of notes when I know it's in a curtain area. Yes you have a lot of folders on your phone but it helps so much.  Also when I have finished with a note on my phone what I'll do is delete it. With my TBR what I'll  do is move it to my Wrap Up and take out anything TBR related and keep the name of the book and then write it as a wrap up and when I'm done with that I'll delete it. One of the best things I have learnt to do when writing my Wrap Up post or book reviews is every time I am reading a book,  or even a few pages I write down how I feel about those few pages or how I felt about the book over the course of reading it because then you can write around it. For each book that I've read a few pages I'll date it, wrote how I felt in bullet form and do that until I Have read the book that way when I come to read the book o can bulk it  up to make a post. It may sound crazy but for me it works.



- Set a schedule


Set any kind of schedule. Monday, Wednesday and Friday or every week day, once a week what ever it may be. If you are a book blogger then set a day a month for your Wrap Up and a TBR for the following month. It can be a separate post or together but set a day for it either at the end of the month or beginning. Join a booking community online. Top 5 Wednesday on Goodreads and/or Top Ten Tuesday on Brooke and the Bookish.



- connect with people

Don't hide your blog away, let people know that you have a blog. Contact companies and offer to do a blog post about their products or what ever they sell. Sign up for free things.


- Don't be afraid



In the beginning when you first start out blogging is scary.  But fine be afraid. Making a schedule helps honestly. Making notes in the note app on your phone helps, connecting with people and social media helps. Once you know what your doing just go out and do it.



- Have a back up

Write as many posts as you can in a day, take as many photos as you possibly can. You don't have to publish the post, you can space them out.


- Tags and Q&A's

There are a lot of different tags out there weather your a book blogger or a beauty blogger or a lifestyle blogger. Occasionally do a tag. Or a Q&A


The last thing remember to have fun. Blogging may seem easy but it's not it's hard, so just have fun with it. Don't do it for fame. Do it because you want your options on something out there.



Over the years I have found it hard but so worth while.  I know my blog isn't great, but still I enjoy doing it.



It's hard I'm not going to lie but it's so worth it.



Lauren

xoxo

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Thirteen Review

Welcome back to my blog

Today is a review on Thirteen. A British TV show that is on Netflix. 




Thirteen is about 26 year Ivy who at the age of 13 was taken and spent 13 years  locked away. 

After escaping ivy is reunited with her family and meets with a school friend. 

She is continually questioned by the police about what happened and they discover that Ivy has lied to them about being aloud out among other things. 


Many of the actors have been in other tv shows that I've watched and I find that they have acted better in those shows. I'm not saying the acting is bad but it's not great. 

Ivy has typical Stockholm syndrome where she is still has some sort of feelings towards the man who kidnapped her. 

After a while it became super predictable. But apart from that there is nothing special about this series. I've never watched anything like it before in the aspect of someone returning after so many years but the police aspect is what you expected.  And that after not even watching all of the episodes. 

It's that predictable that two cops have tension between them. That one cop is the 'bad' cop that doesn't follow the rules. Also it was predictable that it would be Ivy as the one who would have to go after capture to release the other girl who he'd taken.  

I wanted to love this series but really I couldn't. It was just plain predictable on pretty much everything. 

It had elements of other similar police dramas all rolled into one. It just wasn't different and I like different. 


So that's it. Not a super long review or anything. 

Lauren
xoxo