Review - Half Lost by Sally Green

First off, I know, It's been a while. BUT I'M HERE NOW AND THAT'S ALL THAT MATTERS.

Okay. cool.

So, my second book of my August tbr was Half Lost by Sally Green.

This book is the third and final book in the Half Bad series. And it was an exciting conclusion to such a great series. So the series is about a witch called Nathan who is half white and half black. This trilogy is his journey to getting his three gifts and how he uses them.

 I loved the balance of action and romance throughout and how they intertwined at the end. I also liked how both halfs of his being (the black and white) are used to both conflict his thoughts and help his judgement.

Overall, this book was great, I loved how his gifts worked with the ending and how his thoughts had changed throughtout and how they differ from start to finish.

I'd recommend this book for fans of The Hunger Games as they have similar themes and worlds. I give this book 4 stars!

**** NOW IT'S TIME FOR THE SPOILER SECTION, PROCEED WITH CAUTION****

Okay, I liked the story in this with its unexpected twists

BIGGEST TWIST EVER IS THE CHIILD, DROP THAT BOMBSHELL WHEN I'M ABOUT TO FINISH THE BOOK.

Carrie Hope Fletcher signing

On Monday 8th August Ren and I went to Carrie Fletcher's book signing for On The Other Side at Cardiff Waterstones.

It's fair to say that, for me, the day started off poorly. I got up at what I thought was the correct time to get up. Turns out, I thought the train was at 10:25.... It was at 9:25.... And I only realised this when Ren had texted me saying that she was on the platform. So it was lucky I had a neighbour who was on hand to take me to the station.

When we got to Cardiff, we went straight to Waterstones to be met by a small queue already. So, we got our wristbands (that we weren't allowed to keep in the end) and went to go and get some food. We also had this really good idea to get Carrie some orange sweets (which if you've read OTOS you'd know why that's significant) however, Sainsburys let us down and didn't have any (shame on you Sainsbury's).

About, 10 minutes before the signing started we had a security guard come round and tell us what she would sign and what she wouldn't. She was really lovely and was willing to sign anything that she had written (I had 3 books so that was good news).

When I met Carrie, she was the loveliest person. I've met her once before and I swear she gets kinder everytime I meet her. I told her about my theatrical ambitions and how they originated with me watching her vlogs and realising that theatre was an actual career. And her reply was 'you don't need to thank me, you've got yourself there' and that was the nicest thing ever.

I couldn't have asked for a better experience. The booksellers at Cardiff Waterstones we so lovely and so welcoming. Carrie is one of the nicest people I could ever meet so nice to meet her again despite forgetting to give her my letter.

Review - On the Other Side - Carrie Fletcher

Review  time!

So the first book of my August TBR was On the Other Side by Carrie Fletcher which I managed to finish in three days because I can honestly say, I absolutely loved this book! Carrie is one of my idols in life and I love her writing style. The magical  realism that she used throughout was believable (although that sounds weird) and it was so enjoyable. 

The book is about a Woman called Evie Snow who comes a rich family. She has passed away and is stuck in 'Heavens waiting room' and has to get rid of her secrets in order to be light enough to pass through to heaven. The book is her reliving her life and telling members of her family her secrets. 

This book also features LGBT+ characters and I love that. It was also written so that it wasn't all about their sexuality, it was just an extension of who they were.

I loved the characters and how they developed throughout. I got a strong sense of Carrie and her personality through Evie Snow.  I loved that her family members reacted to the secrets differently and how they coped was them was also very believable.

Overall I give, this book 5 stars. I'm so in love with the story line, the characters and their relationships. Amazing. (If you follow me on instagram you would've seen my initial reaction to the ending). You would love it if you're a fan of Cecelia Ahern or Rainbow Rowell.

I'm also off to her singing tomorrow, so if you're in Cardiff come and see me and Ren!

*** SPOILER SECTION ***

So it's going to sound strange but I liked the coldness that Evie's mum had, it showed me  why she had to prove herself.

Evie's character was amazing. I love her warmth as a character and her open mindedness to every situation. I love that she's such a considerable person. 

To be honest, I don't know which pairing I loved the most because they were amazing in all ways. Vincent and Evie was amazing because of what he did for her like the dinner date, sitting with her on the balcony and understanding her situation so well. But then again, her and Jim are such an amazing pair and they work well together because they kinda have to? That's what make them work so well. 

Sonny is also a really good character and I loved the drunken gig, it was absolutely hilarious.

The best part for me was the ending and how it ended. I love that it was her own heart that made her lighter and when she went in to her heaven, Vincent was there. It just made me eternally happy. 

August TBR

So, I've never done one of these before because I've not wanted to be too ambitious with what I say I'm going to read but.... here goes. 

I've set myself a goal of four books this month because I think that would be good amount. So! The first book I am going to read is On The Other Side by Carrie Fletcher (which I'm already reading but thats irrelevant... It's August I'm allowed). This book is by one of my idols Carrie Fletcher who's book signing I'll be going to on 8th August in Cardiff with my friend Ren! (she has youtube and stuff under renontheroad and she's a cool bookish person too so check her out). This book is about a woman called Evie Snow who has died and is trying to pass on to heaven. However, she is stuck in 'heavens waiting room' and must let go of her secrets before she can pass on. I'm really excited to see how these secrets affect her living relatives and I'm loving the stories from her past at the moment.

Next I'm going to read Half Lost by Sally Green which is the last book in the Half Bad trilogy. So far in the trilogy I've loved how fast paced and action packed they have been and I'm so excited to read the last one! I don't really want to say what happens because obviously this is the conclusion and I don't want to spoil it for anyone but, all I'll say is that I'm looking forward to how Nathan is going to develop with the events of the last book.

Then, I plan on reading The Northern Lights by Phillip Pullman. This is the first in the 'His Dark Materials' trilogy and is the book that 'The Golden Compass' is based on. I've also recently found out that this trilogy has also been turned into a play (which has been ordered and is on it's way to me). So Lyra lives in a world where a person's soul is carried in an animal (a literal spirit animal) which follows them around everywhere. Little does she know that she is a child of a prophecy and this takes her on some amazing adventures. I got given the trilogy for Christmas ages ago so I have no idea why I haven't read them yet!

And finally, my book club book of the month! This month it's Casual Vacancy by J.K Rowling. We thought it would be fitting as most of us haven't read it and considering all of the J.K stuff going on at the moment we though it suited the month (and before you ask no, I haven't got cursed child yet (I'm a shameful human being I know)). In this book, Barry Fairbrother has died in a town that is not all as it seems. There's a lot of political war in the town as well as an upcoming election. This is all I know about this book but I like that I don't know much because that leaves so much more to find out! 

If you've read any of these books do let me know what you thought of them and I'll be posting reviews of each one as well as how the Carrie Fletcher signing goes!

Review - Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Book club review!

So, a bunch of my blogger freinds and I have started a book club and this was our book of the month.

This book is about a man called Will who had been in an accident which had caused him to be quadraplegic and wheelchair bound. Will's quadraplegia is C5/6 which meant he had use of his head and his hands but couldn't use the rest of his body. He then met a woman called Louisa has lost her job and, in turn, became his carer.

Overall, I loved this book. The character development was realistic, specifically Will's development as a character. I'm glad that he developed as opposed to other books where the other characters would develop around him. I also liked that the book raised issues around the subject of disability such as alienation and how people normally react to people within these circumstances.

The ending didn't dissapoint either. I liked the way that it left things but I'm not sure how it would lead into the sequal - I guess that I'll just have to find out!

It is a lovely contemporary book that will send you on a rollercoaster of emotions. I'd reccomend if you're a fan of Rainbow Rowell and Cecelia Ahern and I give this book a 4.5 stars! It was a fab book and had so many surprising turns that I can't wait to read the sequal.




**SPOILER SECTION Y'ALL**

I like that Will started off arrogant. I felt like he needed to start like that in order to develop and I liked his witty personality. Also, in the end, I liked that he stayed with the decision. It avoided all the cliche's that could've happened in the book and I'm glad it didn't turn into 'I'm in love with you, I wont do it' because that wouldn't have been realistic.

Louisa was also a fab protagonist who was relatable. That sounds like a strange thing to say as I've never been put in her situation but, she dealt with all of  the hurdles in a way that I would. I like that she stayed true to her thoughts and feelings throughout, that she didnt let Patrick and his 'I'm going to run and not care about you' attitude influence her in any way.

Patrick was a character that I knew I would hate from the moment I met him. He started with 'oh he's a quadraplegic, don't have to worry about him' to 'why are you sleeping there?' to 'You've opened up to me about the situation so I'M GONNA SELL THE STORY LOLOLOL'. In my opinion - he's a snake in the grass and always was.

Lousia's mum surprised me at the end when she told Louisa that she shouldn't come home if she's assisting Will with his suicide as I'd gotten comfortable with her slightly unnerved personality.

Reading the book I didn't expect that he was going to go to dignitas when it was first mentioned but I feel like it needed to have that in the book to give it some substance.