The Rise of Bookstagram

Lately, I've really struggled keeping up with my blog and there are many factors contributing to this. Firstly, I'm super busy. I've just started a full-time apprenticeship which is a lot of hours and a lot of work, meaning that I don't have as much free time to blog like I used to.

Secondly, I'm prioritising my writing. As you may or may not know, I'm an aspiring writer and I've just started a brand new project that needs a lot of time and work. I've just started the first draft and I've set myself a lot of deadlines and targets when it comes to this manuscript. This just means that, when I do have spare time to write/blog, I choose to write. All this meaning that my blog has been very unloved, lately.

And then there's been my venture into Bookstagram. I've always been a little behind on social media platforms so only just got Instagram this year but... I'm loving it. It's so much fun creating bookish images and interacting with so many more book lovers.

In terms of time, it can take me a couple of hours to write, edit and proof-read a blog post. But, with Bookstagram, it takes me a couple of hours to shoot, edit and caption images for an entire month. So, with the same amount of time, I can have content posted every day for a month, compared to a single post a month. It just means that I can still be creative and interact with other book lovers but much more frequently.

Now, this isn't to say I'll stop blogging, because I won't. I love the community and sharing my opinions of books. But.... posts may not be as frequent as they once were ( I don't even know how I was posting three times a week at one point).

One of my new years resolutions for next year is to step up on blogging again so, while I can't promise consistent content, I can promise that I'm going to try my hardest.

Thanks for reading! What are some of your 2020 resolutions?
Stay amazing!
Chloe

Comeback!! (Hopefully...)

I'm fully aware that I've been AWOL for the last couple of months- the last time I posted was early September!! It's safe to say that I've fallen spectacularly behind but I really want to get back to blogging!

There's been a few reasons why I haven't had time to blog as much:

1. I left college this year and now I've started an apprenticeship which means I have so much less free time to actually do anything!

2. A lot of my creative time has gone towards my Bookstagram account! I've actually written a full post on the pros and cons of Bookstagram and why it's taken up more of my time so stay tuned for that!

3. My other creative time has been spent outlining! Recently, I've decided to push aside the writing project I've spent the last two years (for various reasons) and start a new novel. I also have a full post explaining this development so stay tuned for that too!

August Wrap Up 2019

August was a pretty good month in terms of reading which is good because, as I've got Netflix now, my reading productivity is going to go down hill significantly...

BOOKS

Three Dark Crowns- Kendare Blake (July's Book of the Month)
* *
I started reading this is in July and finally finished it in August because it took me a lot longer than I thought it would. Unfortunately, this book just wasn't my cup of tea. I think the premise is really cool and promising but I found this book very slow to slug through and the characters very difficult to like. The ending had some redeeming qualities but, for me, not enough to have me continue this series.
Three Dark Crowns Review
Three Dark Crowns Book of the Month Discussion

Without Merit- Colleen Hoover
* * * * *
I can always count on Colleen Hoover to both break my heart and make it soar. I can't fault this novel. Colleen Hoover creates this beautiful blend of romance and painful realism. This story covers topics like depression, suicide, sexuality and mental health in such a sophisticated and respectful way.
Without Merit Book Review

Spider-Man: Far From Home MOVIE TALK

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I'm really not a harsh marker when it comes to movies- even less so, when they're Marvel movies. So, naturally, I absolutely loved this film and wouldn't hesitate to give it five stars.
Far From Home was exactly the movie we needed after the sob-fest that was Endgame. It was fun, vibrant, meaningful and had a nice amount of emotion as well. I laughed a lot, I was in awe a lot and, yes, I'm very proud of myself because I only cried once!
I will also say that the post credit scenes are so incredibly astounding and important! Sometimes, the post credit scenes are funny but don't serve much purpose to the overall plot but the ones in Far From Home... they created such brutal cliffhangers and set up so much for the future of the MCU!
Endgame Movie Review

"Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown."

SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD
The way Whitney Houston's 'I Will Always Love You' played behind the Marvel logo was beautiful and it kind of set the tone for the rest of the movie- funny, light and making fun of itself. It led onto a little school tribute of Tony, Cap and the others and I just loved it. It was the best way to start the film- it wasn't too heavy or emotional but gave us a nice memory of those who had fallen. After the extreme emotional turmoil of Endgame, this on-the-nose school announcement was the perfect way to start the new phase of the MCU.

Without Merit- Colleen Hoover BOOK TALK

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I can always count on Colleen Hoover to both break my heart and make it soar. I can't fault this novel. Colleen Hoover creates this beautiful blend of romance and painful realism. This story covers topics like depression, suicide, sexuality and mental health in such a sophisticated and respectful way.
While the romance is the basic plot of Colleen Hoover books, there's such layered inclusion of different relationships and personal struggles which I absolutely love- it makes the plot more complex and realistic. (And it never fails to get me personally invested in these characters).

'You need to fall in love with yourself first.'

GOODREADS

AMAZON

SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD
Colleen Hoover has this brilliant ability to grip readers from the very beginning. When I started this book, I was a little hesitant to begin with because I thought I had a very extreme case of insta-love on my hands here... and then, twelve pages in, there was the first plot twist. Only twelve pages in! Who does that?
I literally had to put the book down and cringe when we found out Sagan thought Merit was her twin sister because.... oh, the second hand embarrassment! It's safe to say, from this point on, I was totally gripped.

Three Dark Crowns || Book of the Month

Honestly, I'm actually sad this is my second post about this book because I hated it and don't even want to think about if for too long- I just want to forget it like a bad dream.
Buuuuuuut, it was mine and Kaitlin's Book of the Month for July so we're giving it a little love! From now on, we're going to try this new little post every month where we ask each other questions about the book!
The following questions are those asked by Kaitlin and answered by me. If you want to see what I asked her and her responses, I'll link it right here for you to check out! And, if you haven't read my full review yet, I'll link that here as well for you to see.
On with the questions!
(This post may contain spoilers!)

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@forever_fictional

Which of the Queen's powers would you like?
Despite Katherine being my favourite, I think I'd have to go with Mirabella's power- it's just the coolest. What can a naturalist do? Grow a rose? Yeah, I won't have much use for that. The only good thing about being a naturalist would be to have a familiar. And a poisoner? If this is hypothetically in our world, I've never been poisoned and can't imagine a situation where I would. And even if it was in their world... I'd still want the fire power because, if I had to defend myself, it'd be a lot faster if I can control fire and the weather.

Three Dark Crowns- Kendare Blake BOOK TALK

* *
I hate that I didn't like this book! I've seen so much hype and so much praise and I just don't understand where it's coming from!
There were a few main reasons I didn't like this book: the characters weren't likeable, all of the supposed 'powerful' Queens were passive as heck and the story was really slow. The blurb says that the book is about a fight to death between three sisters who want to become Queen? Yeah, that's not what this book is about. It basically follows the weeks before this battle, where everyone just sits around and talks. Fun.
I can't see me continuing with this series, unfortunately, as I just don't care about the characters and don't want to waste any more of my life waiting around this story to get interesting.

'I want revenge. And then I want my crown.'

GOODREADS

AMAZON

SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD
I think my main issue with this book was that there was a lot of 'telling' and not 'showing.' Let me explain. As a writer, the number one rule is to 'show not tell' in your writing. For example, instead of  simply stating that a character is scared, show that they're scared. Instead of "Character X was scared", write "Character X gasped, arms trembling as she struggled to control her erratic heart." It's not a great example, but you get what I mean. Now, this issue isn't always evident in the prose but the characters and relationships. It's alright for an author to say a character is strong but if we never see that character do anything strong, it's hard to believe. And that's all this book was.

July Wrap Up 2019

This month was brilliantly productive when it comes to reading and TV (which you can see from my bullet journal spread for this month)! At the beginning of the month, I was a little behind on my Goodreads challenge (which has never actually happened before), so I was eager to catch up.
But now... I'm super behind on reviews. I've really been struggling to keep up with blogging lately so, hopefully, I can get my ass in gear, and catch up on some reviews next month!

BOOKS
The QB Bad Boy and Me- Tay Marley (ARC)
* * * *
I was sent this ARC through Netgalley and it pleasantly surprised me! I love a good romance and this one had a nice progression from 'friends' to 'more.' I liked the characters and how they challenged gender norms and double standards. Overall, I think the story was a little too long and dragged towards the end but, on the other hand, this created a nice slow burn that I really enjoyed.

Big Little Lies Season 1 TV TALK

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This show floored me. I don't know what I was expecting, but it definitely wasn't that. Sure, I knew there was a lot of hype surrounding it and an A-list string of actors starring but... I, honestly, did think it'd be that good. By the finale, I was screaming and swearing at the TV screen in all my glory. It doesn't get any better than that.
What I think really sets this show apart is that it's not just a simple 'whodunnit'- we don't even know who the victim is, let alone the murderer! And it just adds another layer of intrigue and mystery because you don't know who to suspect as the murderer or who to sympathise with as the victim. You can't make any reasonable guesses on who's guilty because, for all you know, they could've been the one killed. And it's just so amazing.
This show deals with so many serious topics and it doesn't hesitate to delve into the emotional traumas of such events. The characters are intricate and flawed, the show leaning on the extremely capable shoulders of three strong women, and the relationships captivating. The directing was flawless and the story told in such a genius, mind-boggling way.
Trigger warning: the show involves heavy topics such as rape and domestic abuse. 

TRAILER

SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD
I don't know where to start, I really don't. There were so many characters and so much happened and all of it gave me the feels. I'm gonna try to split things up as simply as I can.

June Wrap Up 2019

I didn't read all that much in June and I definitely binge watched a lot of TV instead. But, hopefully, since my exams are now over and I can salvage back some brain energy, I won't need the easy entertainment of TV as much.

BOOKS
Till Death- Jennifer L. Armentrout (Re-read)
* * * * *
When I have no idea what to read, I go back to Jennifer L. Armentrout. It's as simple as that. This is a romantic thriller and I loved it just as much as the first time I read it. JLA always manages to write effortlessly compelling books with lots of twists and insanely lovable characters and Till Death is no different. This book is actually an adult book when the majority of JLA's collection is YA which means this story is a little more gruesome and explicit but, regardless, I love it.

Collide- Nicole Sobon (ARC)
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This was an arc sent to me via Netgalley and... it was awful. I can't even sugarcoat it. It was as if the author had written an entire novel but then, at the last minute, decided they actually wanted the story to be a series, so randomly split the novel into sections. Nothing happened! There was no conflict, resolution, ending.... it was basically just an introduction to characters before it finished. Suffice it to say, I was very very disappointed.

May/ June Haul 2019

As I lost track of blogging last month and haven't actually bought that much recently (pat on the back for me), I'm combining my May and June book purchases.

Vox- Christina Dalcher
This feels like ages ago now but I bought this book in the beginning of May and read it straight away because it was awesome. It's an amazing but terrifying premise where women are only allowed to speak a certain number of words a day otherwise they get shocked. I read this book back in May and it was absolutely amazing.
Vox Review

Growing Up...

It's been a while since I've written a proper discussion post so here we are... existential crises and personal anecdotes just the way you like em ;)

And the topic is... growing up (which you probably already guessed from the title)
I turned 18 in January and I've had a startling realisation that's kind of sad to think about. Yes, I'm talking about the existential crisis of growing up.... but I'm relating it to books!
I've loved books from a very young age and have naturally always read books with older protagonists (generally 16 or 18). And when I was, like, 10, these characters seemed so much older and cooler than me and I aspired to be like them- they were my role models. And now... I'm realising that I'm the same age or even older than all the characters I used to look up to... which makes me feel relatively boring and unremarkable, to be honest (if you haven't slayed a dragon or fought demons before the age of 18, what are you even doing with your life?).

May Wrap Up 2019

I'm back from hiatus!!
This is a bit late because it's mid-June and I'm only getting back to blogging but, the good news is that all my exams are over now so I'll have so much more time to blog! I've been a little AWOL over the last couple of months because I've been doing more revision than I've ever done in my life but I'm officially back and super ready for the summer! (Let's ignore that I have to work loads and desperately get back into working on my manuscript...)
Sidenote: I've also been trying to get into Bookstagram (@chloe_a_harris) so I've added some of those pictures in this wrap up as well :)


BOOKS
Vox- Christina Dalcher
* * * *
I read this as soon as I bought the book and... I loved it. The premise is so fascinating and so many topics explored appealed to me. It had me laughing, crying and, mainly, cursing at the book because some of the realities in this world were unbearably infuriating. I don't actually think any other book has made me as angry as this one but in the best way possible.
Vox Book Review

Dear Evan Hansen BOOK TAG

I can't believe it's taken me so long to do this tag! I've loved this musical for years now and it's only just occurred to me to find a book tag about it... better late than never, I suppose.
I found this tag on Book Amino so I'll link that here if you're interested!

Anybody Have a Map?- a book/series with great parental figures
The Titan series- Jennifer L. Armentrout 
Honestly, I'm just saying this because Apollo is one of my favourite characters ever and he also happens to be a great dad. Sure, he makes a lot of mistakes, but his heart's always in the right place and, how he likes to say, he always takes care of his own.

Vox- Christina Dalcher BOOK TALK

* * * *
Foreword: Vox is about an extreme government taking over America and limiting women to speaking only 100 words a day. Women wear counters on their wrists and get shocked if they go over 100 words. Not to mention, they also lose their jobs, financial control, passports and are forced into the submissive and domestic role of the household. So, in the interest of this book, I've limited the following review to 100 words just to show how little it really is. And, of course, no spoilers. 

Vox infuriated me in the best way possible. The premise was terrifying and shocking. I had to endlessly curse at the many unbelievably misogynistic characters and the scariest thing is people like this actually exist!
But other characters were super empowering- their strength was admirable. I'm a massive feminist so this book incorporated everything I love. Girl power soars and I was living for it!
I was originally going to rate Vox five stars but the ending felt a bit rushed, manic and sloppy which forced me to drop a star. Regardless, it's a stunning read everyone should pick up!

[100 word limit reached]

May Releases and TBR 2019

RELEASES
books
Again, But Better- Christine Riccio
Aurora Rising- Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Kingsbane- Claire Legrand
Finale- Stephanie Garber

movies
The Sun is Also a Star
Tolkien
Booksmart
Aladdin 




TBR
Vox- Christina Dalcher
I just recently bought this book and I'm so excited to get stuck into it. The premise is that a new, extreme government has taken over America and women are no longer allowed to say any more than 100 words a day. They are forced to wear word counters on their wrist that will shock them if they say any more. Women also lose access to their bank accounts (now controlled by husbands or fathers), lose their jobs and are forced into the domestic role within the family. Naturally, this premise infuriates me but I'm so excited to see the implications of such an extreme view and to see how (hopefully) it's overcome.

April Wrap Up 2019

April was the month of rom-com reads and superhero movies... which is honestly what I'd love every month to be. I've been leaning towards all the easy, contemporary books lately because I've been super super busy and haven't had much time to sit down and read. (I also haven't had time to sit down and blog/write which explains how staggeringly unproductive I've been too). What can I say? Exams are soon upon us and I'm getting my revise on.

BOOKS

The DUFF- Kody Keplinger (Re-read)
* * * * *
Having stormed through the majority of V. E. Schwab's books in March, I really wanted to go back to some comfort re-reads and they don't get more comfortable than Kody Keplinger. When I've got a lot going on in life and stress is sitting on my shoulders, I love going into these types of books because they're easy, fun and super enjoyable to read. The DUFF is my favourite of Kody Keplinger's books so I naturally jumped for it.

Avengers: Endgame MOVIE TALK

* * * * *
Okay. So. How do I even begin to summarise a movie this awesome?
A word of warning, you can't just jump into Endgame as a casual fan. Even if you've seen Infinity War and think you know everything you need to know... you don't. This movies is ten years, 20+ movies in the making and it draws on all the memories and character growth and references to past adventures.
I don't want to say too much in the non-spoiler section because I think it's best to go in completely blind but I will say that I've never cried more at a movie. In the first half, I had the odd tear once or twice but from half way onward... I was crying continuously. Seriously, I had to cover my mouth with my scarf because I was afraid my sobbing was making too much noise. And, yes, I cried over sad, happy and empowering moments alike.
Endgame is a culmination of everything you love about superhero movies coming together and it will definitely go down in history.

SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD
Sidenote: If you can't be bothered to read through this monster of a review (I really wouldn't blame you) a brief bullet point list of my favourite moments and quotes are at the end of this review. Enjoy!

The Immediate Aftermath
Boom! We start with the gut-wrenching scene of Hawkeye losing his family. I've never been a massive fan of Hawkeye but I will admit that this movie has increased my love and respect for the guy... a movie where said guy goes on a killing spree after losing his family... I don't know what that says about me.

Game of Thrones 7x02 'Stormborn' TV TALK

This was a very technical episode with lots of scheming and planning which is what Game of Thrones does so well. The whole thing is like chess- trying to think ten steps ahead of your enemy. However, it wasn't all strategy as we had a pretty awesome and brutal fight scene at the end of the episode which is yet another thing that this show excels at.

TV TALKS:

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

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

Season 3:  3x01  |  3x02  |  3x03  |  3x04  |  3x05  |  3x06  |  3x07  |  3x08  |  3x09  |  3x10

Season 4:  4x01  |  4x02  |  4x03  |  4x04  |  4x05  |  4x06  |  4x07  |  4x08  |  4x09  |  4x10
Season 5:  5x01  |  5x02  |  5x03  |  5x04  |  5x05  |  5x06  |  5x07  |  5x08  |  5x09  |  5x10
Season 6:  6x01  |  6x02  |  6x03  |  6x04  |  6x05  |  6x06  |  6x07  |  6x08  |  6x09  |  6x10
Season 7:  7x01

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

Dragonstone
At Dragonstone, Varys gets questioned by Dany as a sort of test of his loyalty and... I think he passed pretty well. I think Varys is such an interesting character because he doesn't claim loyalty to Daenerys but to the realm and what's best for the people. At the moment, the best option for the realm is Daenerys in his eyes. I think Varys is maybe one of the only good characters because he genuinely wants what's best for the realm.

Escapril 2019 || Part 3

Another week has gone by and Escapril is still going strong! Essentially, Escapril is where you write a poem or piece of flash fiction or song every day throughout the month of April. I've been following the daily prompts which has resulted in some interesting and questionable poems...
I'll link my previous posts and poems down below in case you missed them!
Days 1-2
Days 3-10

day 11 - not from your perspective
This was a total cop out. It was late, I'd been busy the whole day so this was me being... creative in my choice of poem. (Trust me, if you spoke 'Groot', you'd realise that this is actually a very poignant and deep masterpiece).

Game of Thrones 8x01 'Winterfell' TV TALK

I'm so excited it's finally here!!!!!
This is the final season of GoT and it's gonna be epic and I'll have all the feelings. As far as episodes go, this one could be seen as a little uneventful but I think it was necessary. This show deals with so many characters and settings and subplots and we needed this episode to catch up with all the characters, reunite people who haven't seen each other in years and nicely set up things for the rest of the series. And, personally, I love character reunions and I've been waiting patiently for so long so I was super happy with this tamer episode.

TV TALKS:

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

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

Season 3:  3x01  |  3x02  |  3x03  |  3x04  |  3x05  |  3x06  |  3x07  |  3x08  |  3x09  |  3x10

Season 4:  4x01  |  4x02  |  4x03  |  4x04  |  4x05  |  4x06  |  4x07  |  4x08  |  4x09  |  4x10
Season 5:  5x01  |  5x02  |  5x03  |  5x04  |  5x05  |  5x06  |  5x07  |  5x08  |  5x09  |  5x10
Season 6:  6x01  |  6x02  |  6x03  |  6x04  |  6x05  |  6x06  |  6x07  |  6x08  |  6x09  |  6x10
Season 7:  7x01

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

Winterfell
We started at Winterfell and wasn't this just the episode of never-ending reunions? I'm not complaining- I loved every second. Dany, Jon, the dragons and armies march into Winterfell and I was so excited- it was a sight to behold and I don't think I stopped smiling- which is funny because Daenerys smiled a whole lot throughout this episode! I swear, she smiled more in just this episode than she has in all the previous series put together!

Game of Thrones 7x01 'Dragonstone' TV TALK

Season 7 may be a shorter series in terms of episodes but it still brings all the twists and turns that Game of Thrones is famous for. This was such an epic start to the series and teases so many more awesome things to come.
Nothing major happened in this episode but we followed many different character plots, tracking down all the little groups scattered across Westeros and catching up with how they are.

TV TALKS:

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

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

Season 3:  3x01  |  3x02  |  3x03  |  3x04  |  3x05  |  3x06  |  3x07  |  3x08  |  3x09  |  3x10

Season 4:  4x01  |  4x02  |  4x03  |  4x04  |  4x05  |  4x06  |  4x07  |  4x08  |  4x09  |  4x10
Season 5:  5x01  |  5x02  |  5x03  |  5x04  |  5x05  |  5x06  |  5x07  |  5x08  |  5x09  |  5x10
Season 6:  6x01  |  6x02  |  6x03  |  6x04  |  6x05  |  6x06  |  6x07  |  6x08  |  6x09  |  6x10

SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD
We start season 7 with an outstanding opening... Arya wearing Walder Frey's face and poisoning his entire house!!! I absolutely loved this. It was gory, meaningful and satisfying- everything GOT excels at. It's so interesting to see how far Arya has come and to see the power of deception she can wield by wearing other people's faces- it's terrifying and exhilarating! It brings so many possibilities!!!

Game of Thrones 6x10 'The Winds of Winter' TV TALK

I personally think this was just as good as episode nine! I know the ninth episodes are renowned for being the best but this finale really had me excited! I loved that we saw practically every single character and we've finally reached a point in the entire show that we've been waiting for since season one... it created a beautiful cliffhanger for season seven!

TV TALKS:

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

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

Season 3:  3x01  |  3x02  |  3x03  |  3x04  |  3x05  |  3x06  |  3x07  |  3x08  |  3x09  |  3x10

Season 4:  4x01  |  4x02  |  4x03  |  4x04  |  4x05  |  4x06  |  4x07  |  4x08  |  4x09  |  4x10
Season 5:  5x01  |  5x02  |  5x03  |  5x04  |  5x05  |  5x06  |  5x07  |  5x08  |  5x09  |  5x10
Season 6:  6x01  |  6x02  |  6x03  |  6x04  |  6x05  |  6x06  |  6x07  |  6x08  |  6x09

SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD 
From North to South...
We had Bran. He's finally reached the wall with Meera and has now been taken in by the Night's Watch... time for a massive Stark family reunion, I think.
At Winterfell, Melisandre has been exiled from the North because Davos and Jon found out that she'd sacrificed Shireen. I feel so sad... Davos loved Shireen as if she were his own daughter and it breaks my heart. So, Melisandre's off Gods know where.

Escapril 2019 Part 2!!!

A full week has gone by and Escapril is still going strong! Essentially, Escapril is where you write a peom (or small piece or fiction/ song/etc) every single day in April. I've been positing mine to my Instagram (@chloe_a_harris) but I'm also going to compile them into weekly blog posts!
I've been keeping to the official escapril prompts this month, made by Savannah Brown, and I've really been enjoying it! It's fun to stretch my poetry into new topics and themes that I haven't necessarily thought of before.

Day 3- incorporate music

Game of Thrones 6x09 'The Battle of the Bastards' TV TALK

The ninth episode has arrived!! Of course it was going to be amazing!
This is one of the best TV show episodes ever to grace the screen. I know this is a favourite of a lot of viewers and I can totally understand why- it was exciting, brutal, empowering and there were deaths all around! Classic Game of Thrones...

TV TALKS:

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

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

Season 3:  3x01  |  3x02  |  3x03  |  3x04  |  3x05  |  3x06  |  3x07  |  3x08  |  3x09  |  3x10

Season 4:  4x01  |  4x02  |  4x03  |  4x04  |  4x05  |  4x06  |  4x07  |  4x08  |  4x09  |  4x10
Season 5:  5x01  |  5x02  |  5x03  |  5x04  |  5x05  |  5x06  |  5x07  |  5x08  |  5x09  |  5x10
Season 6:  6x01  |  6x02  |  6x03  |  6x04  |  6x05  |  6x06  |  6x07  |  6x08

SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD
We'll start with Daenerys before getting into the battle.
Daenerys easily deals with the masters attacking Meereen. She burns one of their ships with all three dragons and kill the masters to stop them from fighting. She quickly retakes Meereen with her supreme power!!

Game of Thrones 6x08 'No One' TV TALK

I loved this particular episode because we spent a lot of time with Arya- explaining the title of this episode. Arya is one of my favourites because she's so empowering and everything she does makes her so kick-ass!

And I'm so excited for the next episode- the ninth one! I'm prepped and ready... maybe not emotionally. 

TV TALKS:

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

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

Season 3:  3x01  |  3x02  |  3x03  |  3x04  |  3x05  |  3x06  |  3x07  |  3x08  |  3x09  |  3x10

Season 4:  4x01  |  4x02  |  4x03  |  4x04  |  4x05  |  4x06  |  4x07  |  4x08  |  4x09  |  4x10
Season 5:  5x01  |  5x02  |  5x03  |  5x04  |  5x05  |  5x06  |  5x07  |  5x08  |  5x09  |  5x10
Season 6:  6x01  |  6x02  |  6x03  |  6x04  |  6x05  |  6x06  |  6x07

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

Starting with Arya, she gets help from Lady Crane with her stab wound. We think that Arya is as safe as she can be for now but... safe isn't safe when it comes to Waif. Waif finds them, kills Lady Crane and goes after Arya. And I have say, for someone who's recently been stabbed, Arya pulls off one heck of a chase! I've been wanting Waif to die for so long and how she did was stunning! Arya is cornered by her, unlikely to win in a fight but she has one advantage; she's been taught to fight blind and Waif hasn't. So one swipe at the candle and it's darkness. I just love that something Waif taught her to do became her weakness! It was awesome!