June Wrap Up (2018)

Hey guys, this is Abi here,

And it is the end of yet another month! Who would have thought?

And with the end of the month comes another wrap up!

Enjoy!

BOOKS

So I read a total of three books this month (and a book that I finished during the last ten minutes of last month so I'm including it in this wrap up.)

1. Clean, by Juno Dawson

I absolutely loved this book. It's very realistic and honest about a number of different topics, it's about a socialite called Lexi that thinks she's hit rock bottom when she nearly overdoses, but what she doesn't know is that it's about to get ten times worse, when she's shipped off to residential rehab. I flew through this novel, I read it in under two days and it is such a gripping read. Review linked into the title.

2. Caraval (Caraval #1), by Stephanie Garber

I re-read this so that I could refresh my memory on what happened in the first book before I jumped into the second (I had recently bought Legendary because it was signed), so that was the reason that I decided to pick it up. I read this book as soon as it was released last year, and truthfully, I thought that I enjoyed it a bit better this time around.

3. Legendary (Caraval #2), by Stephanie Garber

Frankly, a disappointment. I will go into more detail with my review, but for a lot of the book, there wasn't a lot going on. I liked that I got to see more of Tella, and read from her perspective, but I just feel like it could have been better.

4. It, by Stephen King

I'm so happy I get to include this in this wrap up! It took me 16 days but I finally got through it. Saying that, it is the longest book that I have read. Ever. Did I think it could be shorter? Yes. But the characters were super fleshed out, there were just enough creepy moments that I was scared enough, but not to the point where I didn't want to pick it up for fear of being scarred for life. I was maybe a bit quicker in the bathroom, but that's it. If I'm honest, my only critique was how long all the backstories were and how long it took them to get back to Derry (the two were mixed together). I wish that were shorter. But overall, a pretty amazing book.

FILMS AND TV SHOWS

FILMS

1. Brain on Fire

I have been super busy this month, so there hasn't been a lot of time to watch much. I haven't watched any TV shows, and only one film. That film was Brain on Fire, starring Chloe Grace Moretz. It's based on a true story, and it's about a girl that starts having blurred vision, hallucinations and seizures, though all her scans appear normal. When the stakes start to rise, will they find out what the problem is, or will it be too late? It was a good film, not my favourite, but I tend to enjoy these types of films, and this one was no different.

WRITING

Overall, I've got a decent amount of writing done. Maybe 25 pages, and I will have to fit in more if I want to finish my third draft before 2019, but I'm happy with how much I got done this month.

I'm going to keep on keeping on.

Okay, so that was my June Wrap Up! I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you also had a good month!

Let me know if you got up to anything!

So that is all I have for you all today! I will see you all on Monday with my TBR for July!

Byeeeeeeeee!

-Abi xxxxx

The Mid-Year Freak Out Tag

Hey guys, this is Abi here,

And due to lack of ideas, I decided that it would be the perfect time to do the Mid-Year Freak Out Tag! Mainly because we are literally half way through the year (that is such a scary thought!)

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!

BEST BOOK YOU'VE READ THIS YEAR

I'm going to go with Tiny Pretty Things, by Sona Charaipotra, because this book was cut through and harsh, and it perfectly portrays the world of ballet. It's a diverse read, and it discusses so many relevant issues in today's society, and it was just gripping from the 1st page, to the very last. I also can't wait to pick up the finale to this amazing duology, Shiny Broken Pieces.

BEST SEQUEL YOU'VE READ THIS YEAR

This book really surprised me. Even 5 months after having read it, the events of the end of this book are still firmly planted in my brain. If you get the chance to pick up the trilogy (because Nightblood was out on the 21st), I highly recommend this because (at least for the first two) they just get better and better!

NEW RELEASE YOU HAVEN'T READ YET, BUT WANT TO

This came out recently, and I feel like I talked about this on my other tag this month. I've just felt starved of a Morgan Matson book, and this has just been released, so I feel like I'm going to pick this up sometime in August, when I finish all the books on my TBR.

MOST ANTICIPATED RELEASE FOR THE SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR

At the moment this is the book that I am most excited for to be released. It's the third book in the Songs About A Girl trilogy, and so far it's been such a whirlwind story full of music and photography and romance, and I'm been happily surprised by the first two in the trilogy. Release date is 2nd August.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

I'm sorry, but I had to choose this. The standard of books that I have read this year has been so high, that it just stuck out like a sore thumb. It had it's decent moments, but it was more than average. It might have been the hype, or the fact that it was the second book in the series, but I just wasn't getting what I was expecting. More on my upcoming review.

BIGGEST SURPRISE

It certainly had it's flaws (like the love square), but this one certainly surprised me. I had previously attempted it the year before, and gotten maybe 50 pages in before setting it aside for a more interesting read. But this book does a lot for world exploring, as well as introducing you to a ton of interesting and cool characters, before gearing you up for an epic showdown.

FAVOURITE NEW AUTHOR (DEBUT OR NEW TO YOU.)

This was my first book by Laini Taylor that I have picked up. I knew I would love it, especially after hearing everyone talk about this lyrical, poetic and beautiful writing, with these incredible worlds and characters, and I absolutely did. I read this in the space of a week and I can't wait for Muse of Nightmares, which is out in October.

NEWEST FICTIONAL CRUSH.

I mean, look at that face! He's not Theo James, but having been a survivor in a world full of aliens that have taken human hosts, he's dedicated, and passionate, and grows to love a person that his head is telling him to despise. If that's not a crush then I don't know what is.

NEWEST FAVOURITE CHARACTER(S).

So, I think I'm just going to pick all of the characters from the Mistborn trilogy! These characters took my heart, squeezed it, then stomped on it. I love these characters so much that I kind of have to pick them.

BOOK THAT MADE YOU CRY

For sure, this one is the right one for this category. So powerful, so poignant, so tragic.

BOOK THAT MADE YOU HAPPY.

THESE THREE! They are so cute, OMG! With this trilogy, I read one a month, and I was so glad that I managed to do that because it meant I got to live through the characters for longer! Seriously, if you're feeling a bit down, this is the trilogy for you.

FAVOURITE BOOK TO FILM ADAPTION YOU SAW THIS YEAR.

READY PLAYER ONE! The graphics are amazing, it's a really accurate representation of the book, which I read and loved a couple of years back, and it's just as engaging as the book too! Go see it if you can.

FAVOURITE REVIEW YOU'VE WRITTEN THIS YEAR.

I don't think I'm going to select one for this. I love writing reviews and sharing my thoughts, and I wasn't looking forward to writing any one book over all the others.

MOST BEAUTIFUL BOOK YOU'VE BOUGHT OR RECEIVED THIS YEAR.

I was going to put Legendary for this one too, but I thought that I shouldn't put one book for two categories. So, I picked Clean instead (because the cover is gold.)

WHAT BOOKS DO YOU WANT TO READ BY THE END OF THE YEAR?

Here's the must read list for this year:

-Shiny Broken Pieces, by Sona Charaipotra

-The Exact Opposite of Okay, by Laura Steven

-The Astonishing Colour of After, by Emily X R Pan

-Leah on the Offbeat, by Becki Albertalli

So that was the Mid-Year Freak Out Tag! I hope you enjoyed it, and let me know in the comments what your answers would be!

So there you have it! I hope you have a wonderful day and I will see you all on Friday with my June Wrap Up (2018)!
Byeeeeee!

-Abi xxxxx

Oceans 8 Movie Review

Hey guys, this is Abi here,

And I am nearly up to date with all of my reviews! But instead of posting them in order, I'm going to post a review of a film that I've seen the most recently, whilst it's still fresh in my brain.

So, I am posting the review of the film that I saw yesterday.

Oceans 8.

I hope you enjoy it.

Okay, the first thing that I think from this poster is that the figures should be bigger. You don't really get to see the differences between the 8 on the poster. But maybe that's the whole point.

It looks dynamic at least. Like the colouring of red and black screams 'I MEAN BUSINESS.' Which, after having seen this film, is emphasized from the very first scene.

With Oceans 8, from the absolute get go there is this feeling of these ladies mean business. That they are not women to be conned. The film starts off with Sandra Bullock, being released from prison. What I loved about the film is that it had a goal, something that it wanted to achieve, and it nailed it absolutely.

Also, the amount of well-know actors that were in this film, my god! Helena Bonham Carter, Sandra Bullock, Rihanna (she surprised me), and Anne Hathaway, there are so many good people in this!

Basically, the story is about two characters, Debbie and Lou, that are planning to pull of a heist to steal a 150 million diamond necklace with a team of seven. And these women are so smart that they might actually do it.

One part in particular that I liked was the way that these characters were introduced. They were all introduced individually, and with their own set of unique skills that are vital to some part of this operation. And as the story progressed, they were learning from each-other and actually working as a team. It was truly a force of different women, different backgrounds, learning and growing towards one main goal: stealing a diamond necklace.

Also, what's great about this film is that because it's a heist, it's one goal, you're not sat twiddling your thumbs for minutes, there's always something going on. And I'm going to go as far as to say that you didn't know how quickly the time was going until it was over. It kept you on the edge of your seat, and all the while you were thinking "are they gonna get caught, are they gonna get caught?" It was so good.

The comedy was more subtle than I maybe would have liked. There were little scenes that weren't emphasized, but made you laugh out loud in staccato bursts of laughter, that you weren't expecting to laugh at.

Overall, a decent film. It wasn't the favourite of the year, but I would go and see it again, if somebody asked. It was so kick-ass and devilish, I loved it.

Okay! That was my review of Ocean's 8! I hope you enjoyed it and, if you had any thoughts, let me know in the comments!

And that's going to do it for today's post! I hope you have a lovely day, and I will see you on Friday, with my Legendary review!

Byeee!

-Abi xxxxx