January Wrap Up (2019)

Hey guys, this is Abi here,

And today I'm doing my January Wrap Up!

Aside from having a day off today and having significantly more time to work on this, I also finished another book yesterday, so it seemed right to post my Wrap Up today, instead of yesterday or tomorrow!

Here are all the things I did in the month of January!

BOOKS

I read a total of 6 books this month. It actually started off as a really good month, because I finished my first book on the 2nd.

Anyway! Here are the books I read this month:

1. This Mortal Coil (This Mortal Coil #1), by Emily Suvada

The first thing I wanted to do this year was read This Cruel Design, because it was one of the last books that I owned that I hadn't read yet, and it seemed fitting to re-read this novel, not just because I wanted to refresh my memory of how the story ended, but because I started off 2018 reading this the first time, it seemed fitting to have it be my first read of 2019 too. You can see all my in-depth thoughts in my review, which is linked into the title. I think, if it's possible, I might have enjoyed this book more the second time round.

2. This Cruel Design (This Mortal Coil #2), by Emily Suvada

I posted my review of this last week, and even though I didn't enjoy it as much as the first one, I am really looking forward to the concluding book in the trilogy. This trilogy remains to be one of the most unique trilogy's I've ever read and the ending of the second book set up a very good premise for the concluding novel, which is out sometime in September, I think.

3. Still Me (Me Before You #3), by JoJo Moyes

Truthfully, I did not think I was going to complete this series, but after hearing how much everyone loved this novel (well, most of the people) I decided to pick it up. It had a different feeling to the other two, like you would be able to pick this one up without having read the others, but I would certainly recommend it. Overall, a surprising and fulfilling ending to the Me Before You trilogy (though I feel like it would have been better if Me Before You was a standalone.)

4. Two Can Keep A Secret, by Karen McManus

After reading One of Us Is Lying in one day for the Booktubeathon last year, Two Can Keep A Secret seemed like the perfect book to read for the journey to London. Although it wasn't as quick paced and explosive (it was more mystery and intrigue) as One of Us Is Lying, I learned more about the characters, and I grew to care more about what happened to the twins and the people around them. I will be posting a review for this soon.

5. The Miniaturist, by Jessie Burton

One of the genres that I wanted to pursue more of this year was historical fiction. I know this wasn't on my TBR for the month, but this book was recommended to me by a sales assistant at Waterstones and I was just sold on it. Not expecting much, I picked it up- and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I'm not sure what it was about this book, but something just clicked with the characters and the premise that I just couldn't put it down.

6. Mind Games, by Teri Terry

I decided to pick this book up on a whim, because I knew I was going to be behind on my Goodreads challenge if I didn't pick up something I'd read before, so I decided on Mind Games, because it was the first book that sprung to mind. That's the be-all and end-all of it really. I was reminded once again of why I love Teri Terry's writing, and it got me pumped and ready for Fated to come out in March, (which is the prequel for the Slated trilogy- which I also will be re-reading afterwards.)

FILMS AND TV SHOWS

1. Stan and Ollie

A wonderful film about Laurel and Hardy- a little insight into their personal lives, though it was a tad bit sadder than I thought it would be. Both characters were played wonderfully, and even though it was different to what I was expecting, I still thoroughly enjoyed the film and recommend going to see it.

2. Dragonball Z

I am some way into this series and thoroughly enjoying it. It's getting to the point where I'm thinking of it outside the time that I'm watching it, and it reminds me of Pokémon, because the graphics are incredibly similar to one another. If you're into anime and violence then this is the series to watch.

3. The Impossible

I convinced my mother and boyfriend to watch this movie. It's one of those movies that you cry buckets-full. The story is about a family trying to find one another after the 2004 tsunami in Thailand hit. It really takes a personal view on what it is like, not just for the nation, but what's it like for individuals when disaster strikes. It's honestly a film to watch if you haven't yet done so.

4. Chicago Med

I have been watching clips on YouTube for this show for some time but I didn't start watching it until London, when I got the DVD from HMV. It is everything I expected it to be, and I'm already at the end of season 1.

5. Sunshine on Leith

This is one of my favourite films and I'm glad I got to watch it again. If you don't know much about it, it's a Proclaimers musical set in Scotland, unlike some other movie musicals I could mention, the story weaves with the songs incredibly well and the story has both heartfelt and lively moments.

Okay! So that was my January Wrap Up (2019)! I hope you enjoyed it, and feel free to let me know what you read in January!

Right! I hope you have a good rest of the week and I will see you soon!

Byeeeeeee!

-Abi xxxxxx

Favourite Book-to-Movie Adaptations

Hey guys, this is Abi here,

And I'm here with you today to talk about my favourite book to movie adaptations!

I've been to the cinema to see so many recently, and I'm excited to talk about some of the ones I've seen!

Enjoy!

1. Crazy Rich Asians

I went to go and see this film on my birthday (it came out on that particular day), and I'm so glad I did. I loved every aspect of this movie: the characters, the cinematography, the plotline. The setting was breath-taking, on a whole other level than any other film I've seen to date. I also like the morals and the message that goes behind this kind of film and, even if you think you won't enjoy this film, I urge you all to give it a try.

2. To All the Boys I've Loved Before

I doubt anybody is surprised by this. The whole world loves this movie and we are all waiting with bated breath for the second movie, P.S I Still Love You, to come out some time this year. It was everything I wanted from the book, but I wasn't expecting it to run so smoothly. The actors were perfect for their roles, and they were spot on with their delivery, especially the comedic cues. One of my favourite adaptations, which means that it isn't surprising it made the list!

3. Ready Player One

Again, the graphics are another level. Of course it was, the whole movie takes place in a comic book world where characters can modify themselves to look like whatever they want to. It doesn't even have to be human. And that what is one of the more epic things of the movie, especially at the end. This movie is every sci-fi-lover, every comic book fan, every video-gamer fan's dream. My favourite sci-fi movie up to date.

4. Dumplin'

This is the most recent film that I've seen out of this bunch, and it is by far the most inspirational. Willow-dean Dickson doesn't care about what she looks like, she likes who she is and she's happy with that. She's confident inside and out and she's determined to be herself, regardless of what anybody else thinks. We should take a leaf from Willow-dean's book. Not to be insecure about who we are. And that's the way it should be.

5. The Circle

Now, I'm going to try and keep my thoughts of my book away from this paragraph because it INFURIATED me so much. That's the end of it.

Now, it had a very similar feel to the book, and that is exactly what I wanted. If you don't know what this book is about, The Circle is where you get every single one of your accounts mushed together into one, and your whole world is basically run by the circle. It's basically having all your social media accounts, like email, amazon, all the social media accounts together. That's the premise of The Circle. One thing I will say is that it's an engaging and intense read and the film is just the same. If you like that sort of film then pick it up.

Okay! So those were some of my favourite book to movie adaptations! I hope you enjoyed and feel free to comment what some of your favourites are!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend and I will see you all on Wednesday!

Byeeee!

-Abi xxxxxx

This Cruel Design (This Mortal Coil #2), by Emily Suvada

Hey guys, this is Abi here,

And this is my second attempt at this review! (First time around I hit publish when I was meant to hit Save, and the post went live when it was meant to be for the next day.)

So here I am, writing Post, pt. 2.

I hope you enjoy it!

Title: This Cruel Design

Author: Emily Suvada

Genre: Science Fiction

Release date: 29th October, 2018

Status: Book 2 in the "This Mortal Coil" trilogy

Pages: 435

Blurb: "In bunkers and strongholds across the world, people

are celebrating. There's a vaccine to the virus that has

ravaged the planet for years.

But the vaccine isn't working. The virus is evolving.

Catarina-gene hacker- reluctant warrior- must find

the one person who can help: her estranged father,

who is guilty of unimaginable crimes.

Time is ticking. She has three days before the

shadowy gentech corporation Cartaxus will use lethal

code to wipe out every person on the planet's surface.

Kill the hosts, kill the virus.

Forced to question everything she knows and everyone

she trusts, and with the end approaching, Cat discovers that

the biggest threat of all may be buried in her own mind."

My Thoughts

If I had to use one word to describe this book, the word I would use is explosive. There was no way I was even close to predicting what was going to happen. There were so many twists and turns within this novel, particularly from the end of the chapters. Like in the first book, the ends of the chapters left you wanting to keep reading until the sun came up (if you were reading at night at least.) The end of chapters is definitely a strength of Suvada's.

Another thing I liked was the characters that we got to meet in this novel. They made themselves known and they definitely ruffled the group dynamic. I would go as far as to say that these characters were one of the best parts of the book. They caused some tension, and when a plot twist arose, the sides that they stood on entertained and surprised the hell out of me.

Those are the things I liked.

On the other hand, there's the science. Although it's really easy to follow the science in the book, and the part that it plays to drive the plot forward, there's so much of it, that it's a little overwhelming. I mean, I'm a science geek. I found it interesting, but there's something about the science in this book that just rubs me off the wrong way. I had to be in the right mood to pick this book up, and I guess that's why it took me so long to get through it.

Also, everyone on Goodreads appears to love this novel. I mean, I thoroughly enjoyed it too. But there were parts in this novel that I just weren't motivated to read. It was like, the moment I realised how quickly I was flying through this book, I suddenly didn't feel like reading it anymore. It was a very conflicted reading experience.

Predictions for Book 3:

-A big showdown. After the ending, I have an idea of what will be going on in book 3. Whether I'm right or not, I'll have to wait until it's released to find out.

-I think something will happen with Cat and Cole. I don't know what, but I know for sure that it'll be interesting.

Okay! That was my review of This Cruel Design! I hope you enjoyed it and let me know what you thought of the book in the comments!

Right, that's that! I hope you have a wonderful weekend and I will see you all on Monday!

Byeeee!

-Abi xxxxxx