Thursday, 25 August 2016

AUGUST FAVOURITES ❤

Hi, hope you've all had a great summer and enjoyed yourselves this past month.
August has been a great month for me, I have a lot of favourites.

'On The Other Side' by Carrie Hope Fletcher
I love Carrie Hope Fletcher, she's definitely one of the most inspiring people I know. She has achieved so much in the two years I've known her. Last year she published her first book, All I Know Now, which is a non-fiction lifestyle guide and I loved it. It was full of advice and anecdotes from Carrie's life growing up and she shared the mistakes she made and how she got through them. Now, Carrie has released her debut novel, On The Other Side, and it's amazing. I can tell how hard Carrie has worked on this book. It's full of romance, laughs, tears, magic and is a really heartwarming story about Evie Snow who, after passing away in her early eighties, wakes up in the afterlife. Unfortunately, the door that leads to heaven is locked and the only way to get through is by ridding herself of the three secrets that make her soul heavy. It's an incredible journey and is a really compelling story and I'm so proud of Carrie for writing it. If you want to read my review, click here. I'd definitely recommend it to fans of romance, comedy and drama.

'The Real Me' by Vicky Pattison
If you know me, you'll know I love Vicky Pattison and have supported her for almost two years. She has published several books including two autobiographies and two novels and she has now published her latest book which is a lifestyle guide with advice on fashion, fitness and food. I can tell that this book means a lot to Vicky as it includes all of her advice on how to be the best version of yourself that you can be. She gives tips on how to be confident and how to perfect the liquid eyeliner. I do think that there's something for everyone in this book. If you need advice on fashion, fitness and food then there's no better book than The Real Me. Vicky has overcome a lot of struggles ever since she left the reality TV show, Geordie Shore, two years ago and she shares with us how she overcame them and became the successful woman she is today. I would definitely say that this is one of the most helpful books I've ever read. 

'The Luxe Life' by Fleur De Force
Last year, beauty vlogger, Fleur De Force, published her first book, 'The Glam Guide' and it was successful amongst females in need of advice on make-up and fashion. Now, Fleur has published her second book, The Luxe Life which is similar to The Glam Guide as it gives advice on make-up and fashion but on other factors as well including: black-tie beauty, hollywood hair, front-row fashion, luxe at home, perfect party food, wedding belles and the art of giving. In Fleur's words, it's an 'ultimate bible for busy girls who are ready to take the next step in their journey to the luxe life'. If you loved The Glam Guide, then there's no doubt you'll love The Luxe Life. It's perfect if you're in need of any advice or tips on how to live a luxurious life. This book has helped me a lot to be confident in beauty and fashion and I've learn a lot about make-up and hair. I would recommend this book to anyone in need of some ideas on how to live the luxe life.

 Suicide Squad
This is definitely one of the most anticipated films this year and, in my opinion, it didn't disappoint. I went in hoping for some hardcore action, interesting and over-the-top characters and that's what Suicide Squad brings. Unfortunately, it received negative criticism and I can understand why people wouldn't like it. The plot does get a bit muddled but, honestly, I wasn't too bothered by it. The characters and action sequences were entertaining enough for me. I loved Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn in particular. Harley was the character I expected a lot from and Margot didn't disappoint. Harley has a lot of one-liners and is really likable, despite being a criminal. I also loved Will Smith as Deadshot and Jared Leto as The Joker, although he's not in that many scenes but, hopefully, we'll see more of him in a future sequel. As far as performances go, there's not a bad one to be found, everyone involved gives a strong performance. If you want to read my full review, click here.

Nerve
Nerve is definitely one of the most original films this year. There have been a lot of sequels and remakes released in 2016 which is why Nerve will probably stand out when I look back on the best films of this year. It's a thriller focused on a new app called 'Nerve' that everyone is obsessed with. You're either a player or a watcher. Watchers pay a fee and choose a dare for the player to do and if the player successfully achieves the dare, they get paid a large amount of money. The film introduces us to Vee (Emma Roberts) who, after falling out with her friend, becomes a player on Nerve. This leads to her meeting Ian (Dave Franco) and a series of dramatic dares that could potentially lead to disaster. The dare themselves are really scary which is one of the things that makes this an exhilariting film to watch. At times, I wasn't sure if certain characters were going to achieve the dare. It's also a perfect time to release this film in the light of the Pokemon Go obsession. This film perfectly shows how caught up in technology we have become and how it can lead to danger. Both Emma Roberts and Dave Franco are great as Vee and Ian and share chemistry. If you'd like to read my review, click here.

Bad Moms
I'm a huge fan of comedy as it's one of the most entertaining genres to watch. This is why I was so excited about watching Bad Moms and it didn't disappoint. It's not going to win an Academy Award but it is certainly one of the funniest films this year. Mila Kunis plays Amy Mitchell who is a mother to two children and is struggling to be the 'perfect' mom. After failing to attend work on time and being late to pick her children up from school, Amy decides that's she's done with trying to be a perfect mother. After meeting Kiki (Kristen Bell) and Carla (Kathryn Hahn), they agree to stop trying to be 'perfect' and, instead, be 'bad moms'. This leads to them going to the movies and having parties and, most importantly, having fun. Along the way, Amy learns about what it means to be a mother and why it's important to stand up for what's right. Gwendolyn (Christina Applegate) runs the PTA meetings but is incredibly bossy and is always telling women how to be the perfect mom. Not only that but she's a bully and hates it when she doesn't get her own way. This is why Amy decides that she's going to run in the election to be the new president of the PTA meetings. To do that, she must get all the other moms to like her and she achieves this by throwing a party. This is one of the funniest scenes in the film. Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell and Kathryn Hahn work well and generate a lot of chemistry as three friends who understand each other. If you want to read my full review, click here.

'Into You' by Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande is one of my favourite singers so I was very excited when she announced her new single, 'Into You' and it didn't disappoint. It's very similar to her previous singles, 'Dangerous Woman' and 'Love Me Harder' which are also my favourite songs of hers. Into You is about having feelings for someone and wanting to develop a physical relationship with them. Ariana's vocals are beautiful in this song and, because of its beat and rhythm, it's a really catchy song. It's definitely one of her best songs yet and one of my favourite songs this month.

Highlight of this month
Meeting Vicky Pattison at her 'The Real Me' book signing at
the Trafford Centre - 03/08/2016
This was my fourth time meeting Vicky and she was just as down to earth as she was the first time I met her. She was really chatty and we talked about her winning I'm A Celebrity... last year and all of her amazing achievements and she was really sweet. She signed my copy of her updated autobiography, 'Nothing But The Truth' and her latest book, 'The Real Me'. I feel really happy to have met Vicky for a fourth time as I love meeting her and she always puts a smile on my face. 

So those are what I've been loving this month.
Thank you for reading my blogpost, it means a lot.

Monday, 1 August 2016

'On The Other Side' by Carrie Hope Fletcher review

*May Contain Spoilers*
In April 2015, Carrie Hope Fletcher published her first book, All I Know Now, a non-fiction in which Carrie shared anecdotes from her life whilst giving advice along the way. It was very heartfelt and I could tell that she had worked so hard on it.
Now, over a year later, Carrie has released her second book, her first novel, On The Other Side and the only thing that's different between this and All I Know Now is that this book is fiction. 
Despite filming and editing YouTube videos and performing in Les Miserables in London until October last year, I can tell that Carrie has, once again, put her heart and soul into her book. From watching her videos, I know how much she has always wanted to be an author and to finally know she has accomplished that dream couldn't make me happier.
This book is unlike anything I've ever read before. It's heartfelt and tells a unique story. The main protagonist is Evie Snow and the book begins with her waking up in the afterlife. Unfortunately, she can't get through to heaven as her soul is too heavy because of the three secrets she's been keeping to herself her whole life: the black bird, the shoe box and the good tree. This book is split into the three parts and shows Evie releaving herself of those secrets. However, the book doesn't always stay with Evie. In a few chapters, we see how her family are coping after her death. It also tells a beautiful love story between Evie and Vincent. I've seen a lot of romantic films and read a lot of books that contained love stories but Evie and Vincent's love story is, by far, one of the best told love stories. When I was reading about Evie's love for Vincent, I fell in love with him too and I even wished he was real. Unfortunately, because of Evie's mother, Eleanor, she is forced to marry a man she doesn't love, James, and the two end their relationship. My heart broke as I wanted Evie to have her happy ending but, as I carried on reading, I realised that she does get her happy ending with Vincent, just not in the way one might have hoped. On the front cover of the book, it says 'a love story like no other...' and I can definitely say that that is true.
One of the things I loved about this book was that Carrie included characters, who were part of the LGBT+ community. In all honesty, the only other book I've read that has included a character that was homosexual was John Green's Will Grayson, Will Grayson. I definitely think that more books need to include characters of all sexualities instead of the typical 'girl-meets-boy-and-falls-in-love-with-boy' cliche. As it turns out, Vincent is bisexual and we learn about his relationships with previous men and women he'd been with. In this book, Carrie proves that it doesn't matter what your gender or sexuality is, love is love and I definitely felt that when reading this. Evie's brother, Eddie, is gay but hasn't come out to his parents as they are homophobic but there is a brilliant part in the book where he does eventually come out and it made me laugh because of how he did it and it showed that he couldn't care less what his parents think.
I also loved how the book was structured. Like I mentioned earlier, it's split into the three different secrets and it shows Evie in the afterlife but we also see her past too. I was amazed by how Carrie managed to cleverly plan her story out so that everything makes sense and isn't confusing.
A lot of people have wondered when it is set and if it's a fantasy. Carrie has said that it isn't set in any time or any where as time only plays one part in the story. This is because she feels that if she set the book in a certain time period, certain things such as technology, clothing, hair styles, speech, accents, music and others would have to be referenced and these are the things that don't contribute to the story in any way. Yes, we're given mild descriptions of the character when we first meet them but we don't need to know what a character looks like in order for us to connect with them. It's the same with all the other things as well. 
This book made me feel so many different emotions such as: love, happiness, heartbreak, sadness and hopefulness and that's the first time I've felt so many different emotions at once whilst reading a book. This is because I really connected with Evie as a character. In all honesty, I didn't want her story to end but when the book did end, I didn't feel sad. I felt happy because I knew, like all good stories, that it had to end and I knew that Evie could finally enter the afterlife with the person she truly loved.
Overall, Carrie Hope Fletcher tells a meaningful story that is full of love and will most likely make you cry.
4/5
Read my review of Carrie Hope Fletcher's non-fiction book, All I Know Now here