July Releases and TBR 2018

Releases

Books
Watching You- Shannon Greenland 
The Dark Legacy (The Darkest Minds #4)- Alexandra Bracken 
The Year of Living Awkwardly- Emma Chastain 


Movies
Ant-Man and the Wasp 
Mamma Mia 2: Here We Go Again



TBR

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets- J.K. Rowling (Book of the Month)
Me and Kaitlin have decided to re-read Chamber of Secrets for our July Book of the Month because, on July 2nd, it's officially 20 years since the book released. I've only ever read the books once so I'm excited to give this one a re-read.

June Wrap Up 2018

I re-read a lot more than I'd intended to this month. I always say that I should stop re-reading so much and discover new books but I fall into old reads so easily! They're really quick and fun and I know I love them!! Also, I've actually completed my Reading Challenge of 50 books for the year! Which means I'd better challenge myself a bit more next year...
I also didn't manage to get to June's Book of the Month this month but it totally wasn't my fault!! The BotM was A Thousand Perfect Notes by C.G Drews and I went into Waterstones multiple times to buy it but couldn't find it! As soon as I find this book in store, I will get it and catch up with the books of the month. I'm determined.

BOOKS
A Court of Frost and Starlight (ACOTAR #3.5)- Sarah J. Maas
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I was really excited to jump into this novella because... it's Sarah J. Maas. It's the inner circle. It's Feysand. ACOMAF is my favourite ever book in existence so I'm always happy to see more of this amazing set of characters that I love so much. I will admit that Frost and Starlight wasn't nearly as good as the others and unfortunately felt like a filler book- made primarily to make more cash. Nothing significant really happened in terms of plot but it was nice to spend time with these characters again.
A Court of Frost and Starlight Book Talk

June Book Haul 2018

Not many books this month but a couple is a lot better than nothing.

the princess saves herself in this one- Amanda Lovelace

I was in Waterstones (as I tend to be) and I saw this book presented so lovingly on the shelf and I just gravitated towards it. Whenever I'm feeling down or vulnerable emotionally, I find that reading poetry is a great outlet- writing and reading it. Reading poetry is so comforting because they sum up feelings so beautifully and eloquently and it has an amazing ability to make you feel less alone. This book has had a lot of hype and is in a similar style to Rupi Kaur who is one of my favourite poets.
I've actually already read this during this month and I can say that it's my favourite poetry anthology. If you like poetry, go straight to Amanda Lovelace.
the princess saves herself in this one Book Talk

Westworld 2x09 'Vanishing Point' TV TALK

This was maybe one of the most shocking episodes we've had this season. And I mean jaw-dropping, gasping, hand-over-mouth kind of shocking because I was all over the place. Of course this episode was gonna be amazing because it's the penultimate one and it brilliantly built up everything ready for the finale.

TV TALKS

Season 1:  1x01  |  1x02  |  1x03  |  1x04  |  1x05  |  1x06  |  1x07  |  1x08  |  1x09  |  1x10
Season 2:  2x01  |  2x02  |  2x03  |  2x04  |  2x05  |  2x06  |  2x07  |  2x08

SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD

Man in Black
We spent the majority of this episode switching back and forth between present William and past William (although it wasn't that far away in the past). I really loved seeing all the detail behind his wife's death and really understanding the relationship between William and Emily.

Westworld 2x08 'Kiksuya' TV TALK

After the hard and fast revelations and reveals, this was a nice episode to kick back and take a closer look at another perspective through the past. We learnt so much about the true intentions of the mysterious Ghost Nation by following Akecheta and his path to consciousness.
I really like the title for this episode- Kiksuya meaning 'remember' in Lakota which is the language Ghost Nation speaks. This episode had a beautiful feel to it and a real theme of tragedy.

TV TALKS

Season 1:  1x01  |  1x02  |  1x03  |  1x04  |  1x05  |  1x06  |  1x07  |  1x08  |  1x09  |  1x10
Season 2:  2x01  |  2x02  |  2x03  |  2x04  |  2x05  |  2x06  |  2x07

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I really loved following Ghost Nation's history in this episode. They've been a wildcard from the very beginning and it's nice to finally know where they stand. I loved the new characters and cast, though, I must say, the cast was a brilliantly recycled selection from Twilight.

the princess saves herself in this one- Amanda Lovelace BOOK TALK

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For me, poetry soothes the soul. So, when I'm feeling particularly emotional or down, I go to poetry because it's like the best kind of a hug with someone telling you that they understand how you're feeling and reassuring that you'll get better. After this month... let's just say I needed to devour a poetry book and I'm so glad I picked up this one.
the princess saves herself in this one is maybe my favourite poetry anthology because it was summed up so many different emotions beautifully. There was also a lovely focus on book lovers which I really enjoyed. Amanda Lovelace told a true story through her poetry and it captivated me from the very beginning. She's been through so much and expresses it so well through her words. There were many situations and circumstances that I could relate to and I'll admit that I cried more than once through the duration of this book.
I'm gonna highlight a few of my favourite poems because they're just too beautiful for words. (Excuse the doodles I made in purple pen- I like to annotate poetry books for some reason.)
Warning: this is gonna get deep. Real deep.

This one was maybe my favourite. It beautifully sums up the relationship I have with books and the love I have for all the characters I read about. And in fiction, especially YA, there are so many amazing and perfect friendships. One reason I love ACOMAF so much is because I love the Inner Circle and I yearn to have those kind of relationships in my life so much it actually hurts. So, this poem beautifully sums up the love of books but the realisation that... sometimes it's not enough.

The Never Dawn- R. E. Palmer BOOK TALK

I received an ARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. 

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I was super impressed with this book! From the very first page, I was sucked into the story of intrigue and it kept me gripped until the very last page!
The Never Dawn follows Noah, a young man who works under the Earth, hoping to one day return to the surface and see the sky. But, after finding out a secret their leader has desperately tried to keep hidden, he decides to escape and find out what's really lurking on the surface. 

This book was full of great twists and turns and I'd definitely recommend it for any lovers of dystopian and sci-fi.

GOODREADS

AMAZON

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I'll start with the one main issue I had with this book before going into everything properly. And it wasn't ever a major issue- just something that grated on me a little. The irritating thing was just how naive everyone was. I understand to a certain extent that they've been brainwashed all their lives to believe in the Mother but Gods, how can anyone be that that ignorant?!? When Seth came along and  started asking all these (perfectly valid) questions, I was so relieved!! Here we have a 13 year old who's smarter than everyone else! It baffles me that no one else had thought to ask these questions.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom MOVIE TALK

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I absolutely loved this movie. It exceeded my expectations by such a huge mile and I was transfixed through every single minute. 

The first movie is good, don't get me wrong, but I enjoyed this so much more! The characters were so much more fleshed out and interesting in this one and all the little annoyances I had with them had fizzled out. We were also introduced to a bunch of new characters and they were so much more entertaining than the ones in the first movie. 

The action sequences came hard and fast and they were all pretty damn epic. I lost count of the beautiful number of shots and the whole pace of the movie was fantastic. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time and this is a perfect example of how sequels should be made. 

Jurassic World Movie Talk

TRAILER

AMAZON

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Let's start with characters because that's what I was impressed with most.
In the first movie, I liked Claire but I didn't love her- she was a little stuck-up, spoilt and too into the financial benefits of the park. I found her to be a little annoying. But this movie changed everything. From the very beginning, she was passionate and willing to fight for the dinosaurs and she had this determination that felt really empowering. I love how strong and independent she was through this film and her choice of shoes was infinitely better than the dreaded high heels from last time.

Westworld 2x07 'Les Écorchés' TV TALK

I know I sound like a broken record by now but this episode was so amazing and maybe my favourite so far! We got lots of explanations, reveals and reunions I hadn't seen coming! It was as fast-paced as always and gripping through every single second. But what I loved most about this episode, was the monologues. The writers of this show are so talented and we had multiple monologues from different characters that just had me captivated. There were so many amazing quotes in this episode (hence why I made double the amount of edits for this episode).

TV TALKS

Season 1:  1x01  |  1x02  |  1x03  |  1x04  |  1x05  |  1x06  |  1x07  |  1x08  |  1x09  |  1x10
Season 2:  2x01  |  2x02  |  2x03  |  2x04  |  2x05  |  2x06

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Present (Bernard/Charlotte/Strand)
The scenes with Bernard, Karl Strand and Charlotte nicely bookended this episode which I really liked. And yes, that's a weird thing to appreciate but, with Westworld, it's unusual to get such a neat episode when everything's usually all over the place.

A Court of Frost and Starlight- Sarah J. Maas BOOK TALK

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There has been major differences in opinions on this book and, honestly, I can totally understand that. ACOFAS is technically book #3.5 of the A Court of Thorns and Roses series and acts as a bridge novella between the original trilogy and the newer books set to release.
This book is great because we have all the characters we know and love but... nothing really happens. There's no plot to this novella and just seems like a series of scenes that we didn't need to see and had no relevance to anything. We didn't learn much of use and it seemed to be 200 pages of filler content. If I was being really cynical, I'd accuse it of simply being written to make money.
Despite all this, I did enjoy it but can't see myself reading it again and again to the extent I do the other books in the series. Having said that, I did read this book in one sitting because it's shockingly short for a Sarah J. Maas book.
BOOK TALKS:  ACOTAR  |  ACOMAF  |  ACOWAR

GOODREADS

AMAZON

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I don't really know what to start with because nothing really happened.
I'm gonna go through the things I didn't particularly like and and then move onto the bits I loved. The positive of there being absolutely no plot to this book... I can talk about scenes in any order I want. Silver linings.

Westworld 2x06 'Phase Space' TV TALK

This episode was amazing! Westworld steps it up with each and every episode and this is maybe my favourite of the series so far. We got scenes and reunions we've been waiting for so long as well as, most importantly, returning characters!!! I'm so excited for what this means as we get to the final episodes of the series.

TV TALKS

Season 1:  1x01  |  1x02  |  1x03  |  1x04  |  1x05  |  1x06  |  1x07  |  1x08  |  1x09  |  1x10
Season 2:  2x01  |  2x02  |  2x03  |  2x04  |  2x05

SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD

Dolores/ Bernard or Arnold
We start with our familiar conversation between Dolores and... I wanna say Bernard in this one- at least, Bernard's body. Hear me out.

June Releases and TBR 2018

RELEASES
Books
A Reaper at the Gates (An Ember in the Ashes #3)- Sabaa Tahir
Save the Date- Morgan Matson
Smoke in the Sun (Flame in the Mist #2)- Renee Ahdieh
The Emerald Sea- Richelle Mead
A Thousand Perfect Notes- C. G. Drews

TV and Movies
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
The Incredibles 2



TBR
A Thousand Perfect Notes- C. G. Drews (Book of the Month)
This month me and Kailtin (Liber Amoris) have decided to read a new release coming out in June. C.G Drews is the author of the blog Paper Fury which we both love so I have no doubt I'm going to love her book as well. I don't know much about it but am excited to just jump into it.

Watching You- Shannon Greenland (ARC)
Last month, I had the very exciting opportunity of being approached to receive, read and review an ARC of Shannon Greenland's upcoming release, Watching You. I am a massive fan of Shannon ever since I read an ARC of Shadow of a Girl last year and gave it 5 stars. I'm also super excited to reveal that I'm interviewing Shannon soon and posting it here on my blog- I'm super fangirling about it! Watching You doesn't officially come out until July but I'm perfectly unashamed to brag that I'm reading it at the moment and loving it! 
Shadow of a Girl- Shannon Greenland Book Talk