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

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?).

What Books Would I Save? - Hypothetical Talk Time

For some reason, I was lying awake at night and I got to thinking: what books would I save if my house caught on fire? Don't ask me why I was thinking this. I was sleep-deprived and a little out of my mind. But I still decided to make a blog post about it. Don't ask me why. I'm very sleep-deprived and a little out of my mind.
So, here's the scenario: If my house were burning down and I had just enough to save ten books from my shelves, what would they be? (Because this hypothetical fire is big enough to be critical but mercifully gradual enough to allow me to stop, think and carry ten books to safety without my lungs being screwed up with smoke or my skin being burnt by flames.) Aren't hypothetical fires fun?
Now, this list may be missing some of my favourite books but the idea is to take irreplaceable books. Plenty of books I'd be able to buy another copy of so I've tried to stick to copies that have a personal relevance to me.

Glass Houses (the Morganville Vampires #1)- Rachel Caine
This was the first book that initially came to mind because, not only is it one of my favourites and one that brings a truckload of nostalgia and warm feelings along with it, but it's also personally signed by the author. I went to meet Rachel Caine back in 2016 (original ancient post here if you're interested) and it was the first (and only) time I've met one of my favourite authors. Let's just say it holds sentimental feelings for me.

Book Recommendations for Spring Snow Days

Because the weather is crazy in the UK and has decided to mix up all the seasons (I'm convinced the apocalypse is upon us), I've decided to make the most of it and turn it into a book recommendations post. I'm going to recommend four books with wintery settings or covers that can get you into a wintery spirit even though it's spring... because that's how things are working this year.
(Also enjoy nice snowy photos of me along the way...)


Unravel Me- Tahereh Mafi
Unravel Me is the second book in the Shatter me series and I've picked it because it has a nice wintery cover which just happens to be stunning even if it has no regard to the plot whatsoever. This series follows Juliette who has a curse gift where everyone she touches dies. If that sounds interesting... read the books, because it is interesting. I love this series so much and can't wait for the fourth instalment, Restore Me, to come out this month.
Unravel Me Book Talk


This is What Goodbye Looks Like- Olivia Rivers
Switching to a contemporary stand alone, This is What Goodbye Looks Like, is actually set in winter for the most part. This means cute pictures and flirting with your ship in the snow. I've read this book twice and I loved it just as much both times. It has a lovely blend of romance, internal struggle and an edge of mystery that surrounds the whole thing.
The is What Goodbye Looks Like Book Talk

World Book Day Baking with Kaitlin!!

World Book Day is a momentous occasion for all book lovers so me and my lovely friend Kaitlin (Liber Amoris) always decide to do something to celebrate. In 2016, we went to a Rachel Caine book signing, meeting one of our favourite authors and getting our books signed and pictures taken with nervous energy. And in 2017, we went on an epic journey to the local shopping centre (admittedly not that epic) dressed as some of our favourite characters, all while getting odd looks as we took photos of our brilliant cosplays.

Now, you may be thinking, how do we top that? And the answer is: we don't.
This is what happens when you live where no author wants to come on a book tour and you have no money or travel to get you anywhere cool. Nevertheless, me and Kaitlin still managed to do something book related and we had a lot of fun doing it!

See all the pictures in the Gallery!

We decided that we'd bake some cupcakes and decorate them with bookish designs! Maybe not the most unique idea in the world but it was a lot of fun and actually was pretty successful (we were totally expecting it to fail epically).

Forever Fictional's Second Birthday!!!!

Another year has gone by and it's been a great one! A lot has happened over the past year and I'm gonna go over my personal highlights and favourite posts! Thanks to everyone who follows, comments and supports my blog!!!
(Links to each post are on subheadings)

Mystery Blogger Award
I was nominated for this award not once but twice and I appreciated each nomination so much!! I did two different posts answering questions and it was a lot of fun to complete.

Forever Fictional #Rebranding 
Maybe the biggest change for my blog during this past year was that I changed the name! Fictional Fetish became Forever Fictional and I'm so glad I followed through with the change despite my anxieties. It took a long time to change everything in terms of other social media and all the links within posts but I managed to complete the transition and I'm so happy with it.

Bookish Pick up Lines
This was one of my favourite posts to write because I love books and I love puns... it was a match made in heaven. I had a lot of fun creating it.

Book Adventures with Kaitlin!

Yes, I'm holding a Sarah J. Maas book... because you wouldn't expect any less of me. 

Like the book geeks we are, me and Kaitlin (Liber Amoris) went book shopping! What a strange and unusual thing for two book bloggers to do, I know! And, of course, we had to document it because we're desperate for content and it'll be nice to look back at these kind of things when we're older... plus, it's fun.

First stop was the book shops (obviously). We went into the Works where I picked up the Poison Study series that I'm actually currently reading (they were too beautiful to say no to!) and Kaitlin picked up Wordplay. We then went to WHSmith and had a great time waiting for a deserted aisle to take photos and trying to balance my phone precariously on bookshelves and putting a timer on it to take a picture. (Important note: remember to turn your phone on silent so it doesn't beep really loudly in the middle of a quiet shop and make both subjects jump like hell.)

Book Tattoos?

I've always wanted a tattoo when I'm older and, of course, it would be book related- a tribute, of sorts, to honour my favourite books and quotes. So, I thought it'd be interesting for me to share some designs that I really love and the reason behind me maybe someday wanting them permanently inked
on my skin.

Quotes
I'll likely get a quote but the only problem is that I have a real struggle picking which one- I love so many! At the moment, my favourite is: she reads books as one would breathe air; to fill up and live. I adore this quote but maybe think it's too long? I want a small tattoo, not a giant one.

Fandom Edits || Female TV Edition Part 1

I've really been getting into photo editing recently and have naturally gone straight to fandom editions. I love putting in quotes and have also been making many wallpaper settings for my phone and such. I thought I'd share some of my favourites and you can comment any requests that I can make for the future.
This edition is focused solely on kick-ass females from TV shows that I love... they make me feel really empowered so I hope you enjoy! This will be part 1 of 2 so stay tuned for even more epic TV females...

NO SPOILERS 

Game of Thrones

Series I Will Never Finish

We all come across those books, those series, that you start but simply can't finish. This could be because of a variety of reasons but, ultimately, it's because you're not enjoying it. You can't justify struggling through the rest of the series when there's so many books and so little time.
So, I thought I'd list some series that I never plan on finishing... some may be controversial so please do tell me if some series get better as they go along. I have different reasons for each one and would generally not recommend picking up these books... maybe avoid them instead.
NO SPOILERS 


Daughter of Smoke and Bone series- Laini Taylor 
I've most recently read this book and, while I enjoyed it, I don't think I can continue. I flicked through the sequel and everything seemed so slow and boring- the things that I wanted to happen didn't even occur until the end of the book. This series had so much potential and I started out really enjoying it... but the story went in a direction that I didn't want to follow.




The Selection series- Kiera Cass
Now, when I first read the original trilogy, I loved these books. I may always have a guilty pleasure of them even though I'd probably hate them if I re-read it. But, needlessly, Kiera Cass has added on another two books from the protagonists' daughter's POV and I'm just not into it. It's like history repeating itself and I'm never going to be in the mood to re-read a recycled version of the original trilogy.

ACOTAR BOOK TAG || ACOWAR WEEK Day 5

I found this Book Tag on the Youtube channel Whitty Novels and, as soon as I saw it, I had to do it. Let's not waste any time and get straight into the questions!




1. Lucien- A book that fits more than one genre.
The Covenant series- Jennifer L. Armentrout
Action. Romance. YA. Mythology. It's all in there and it is stunning. Honestly, I'd recommend reading any Jennifer L. Armentrout book- they're the best.

2. Tamlin- A book with a nice cover but you don't like what's inside.
(First off, this question had me laughing out loud).
Fallen- Lauren Kate
I liked this book when I first read it... which was around when I was ten years old. So, naturally, when I'm older and try to re-read it.... I can see how rubbish it actually is. That's just my opinion, though.

3. Amarantha- A book that haunts you.
We Were Liars- E. Lockhart
When finishing this book, I needed to re-read it so simply flicked back to the beginning and started again instantly. This book was so haunting for me and you keep thinking about it long after you've finished.

Favourite Fan Art- ACOMAF Edition || ACOWAR WEEK Day 3

There is a lot of amazing fan art out there and ACOMAF has some of the best- I have countless wallpapers and pictures of them littered around my life. My favourite fan artists have to be Charlie Bowater and Taratjah (she's amazing- she's does so much- including ACOTAR, The Lunar Chronicles and so much more!).
Seeing all this beautiful artwork makes me wish I could draw but... Alas, I'll just sit here and admire.
All artists credits will be linked in their name if you want to check out more of their work (which I strongly advise!).
There are many that I didn't include in this post- mainly because some are a bit... steamy and involve a lot of paint... (I'm looking at you, Charlie Bowater) but I'd recommend just flicking through Google Images for more. They're all amazing.

BEWARE- ACOMAF SPOILERS AHEAD- 

The Inner Circle- Charlie Bowater- Buy her stuff!!!
These two pieces of art may very well be my favourite of all time. These are such a beautiful pieces of artwork and each of the characters are exactly as I imagine them to be- it's stunning!
The picture to the right also happens to be in the colouring book- suffice it to say, I'm terrified of doing this page because I'm scared I'll ruin it and not do it justice!

Introduction/Schedule || ACOWAR WEEK

To mark and honour the fact that I've read A Court of Wings and Ruin (finally!) after waiting for all my exams to be over, I'm commemorating the occasion by creating my very own ACOWAR WEEK.
Starting tomorrow (Monday), I'll be posting an ACOWAR related post every single day for the entire week. This pre-post is just to let you guys know what's happening and what I've got planned for each day.
If you haven't read the ACOTAR series by Sarah. J. Maas, I'd seriously recommend getting on that. I mean, it must be good if I'm dedicating a whole week to it.

Schedule-

Monday- A Court of Thorns and Roses BOOK TALK (First read)- I previously wrote my review on paper because it was before I even started this blog but I'm typing it up for you guys!

Tuesday- A Court of Thorns and Roses BOOK TALK (Re-read)- ACOTAR is one of those series that, after you read the sequel, you have to re-read the first book because you have totally, polar-opposite opinions on everything. Hence why I'll have another review from when I recently re-read the first book having read sequel and changing all my views.

Wednesday- Favourite Fan Art- The ACOTAR fandom has a lot of amazing art, so I wanted to post and promote some of my favourite pieces by some amazing artists.

Cosplay Adventures #1 with Kaitlin!!!

In honour of World Book Day 2017, I partnered up with Kaitlin @ Liber Amoris to overcome public anxiety and showcase our book pride in the name of reading... and look awesome whilst doing it!





Starring (drum roll, please):
Kaitlin as Katniss Everdeen
Chloe as Emma Carstairs 

Kailtin as Katniss Everdeen                                         Chloe as Emma Carstairs

Bookish Pick Up Lines

In honour of Valentine's day (all of the TMI fandom are curled in a corner in terror), I thought I would post a fun little guide of bookish pick up lines. Some could actually work, some are clever but the majority are awful and simply exist to amuse me.
I'm a massive fan of books (as you already know) and puns. I have a great sense of humour (!!!) , by which I mean that I love really bad jokes.
We have a few rounds to these epic pick-up lines: the Internet Round (ones that I found when researching), the Brother Round (lines that my dear old brother kindly made up) and My Round where I attempted to make a couple up- those of which I'm proud of!
Let's get stared.


Internet Round
1. Look someone up and down and say "Well, the odds are definitely in your favour."
The Hunger Games- Suzanne Collins

2. I can live up to all your Great Expectations
For all you classic lovers out there.
Great Expectations- Charles Dickens

My Blog Is One Year Old!!!

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday, Fictional Fetish, happy birthday to me!
It's officially been a year since I posted my first ever post on Fictional Fetish- Book Newbie Tag!
I'm so proud of how much I've grown since then and how much I've achieved! In a year, my Book Talks and posts are much better (thank god!) and I've even written the first draft of my own book!
Here's to another successful year!
Thank you to everyone who has supported me and made this possible!
Chloe xx

Book Related Money Saving Hacks for the New Year

Christmas has been and gone and, with it, all our money has slipped away from us. And all those new books we want to buy? A whole new year of amazing releases to buy? Where do we find the money?
Well (and I'm aware at how cliché this sounds), I'm here to help!
I'm undergoing a quick and easy money saving scheme this year in order to save money and plan a huge book spree at the end of the year.
The idea is pretty simple: Every time you finish a book this year, save one pound. For me, this means that by the end of the year I'll have saved roughly around £80 which I can then go treat myself and spend on books. Yes, I have to wait the whole year for the spree but it's an efficient way to keep saving whilst cashing out on the year's expenses.
And you can alter it to fit yourself! If you don't read many books a year and still want to save a lot, you could save £2 for every book you read. And depending on how much free change you have spare, you could save 50p every book- or £3! It can work in any way you wish and it's a simple way to collect a nice jar of money. (It could also be a nice incentive to read lots of books).
I'll be saving £1 for every book I read under 400 pages and £2 for every book over 400 pages to make a nice, sizable amount of money for the end of the year!
Good luck for 2017!

Thanks for reading- I hope you have a great 2017! Feel free to comment any of your own money saving hacks or how much you're going to save per book if you decide to go ahead with this! Stay amazing!
Chloe

My Hogwarts Identity!!!

I thought an interesting way for you to get to know me would be to share my Hogwarts identity with you. I'll share my house, Patronus, Ilvermorny house and wand. I feel like someone's house gives you a big insight to their personality, so, here we go!




                             Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw
                                 if you've a ready mind.
                           Where those of wit and learning,
                                Will always find their kind.








                       

                                 Patronus: Thestral

Printing Mistakes RANT (Bookish Pet Peeves #3)

So. I'm in a ranting mood and I just have to let it out. Just got to get it out.
So I've had a bit of a reading slump and just didn't know what to read. I picked up many books before finally settling on Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi. I've been wanting to read this for a while and I started reading and it was sooooo goooood!!!!!!
I'm 240ish pages in when suddenly, the pages jump back to 217 again. So, for the next thirty odd pages, there's a re-write of what I'd just read and then it skips to page 280. It doesn't make sense to me anymore as there's a massive chunk missing!
I can't continue reading because it doesn't make sense but I desperately want to read it!! Suffice it to say, I'm a bit annoyed.
And the worst thing is- I don't have the receipt anymore. I bought the book about a year ago and knew I wouldn't take it back so chucked the receipt.
*face palm*
Printing errors are so so so so inconvenient and annoying!!
So now I'm in an even bigger reading slump because I can't read what I want to read!
Rant over!!!!

Thank you for reading! Can anyone relate? See you soon,
Chloe

Ebook Vs Physical Book- Book Debates

One of the biggest debates in book culture is the dreaded: Ebook vs. Physical books. I was inspired to talk about this debate by a booktuber's video discussing it so please go and check out their original video: PolandbananasBOOKS.
Personally, I prefer the latter but we'll get onto reasons in a sec. I'll be outlining some of the main arguments and you guys can comment/vote your preference!
Let's get started!

Physical

The satisfaction of the left side getting bigger and the right side getting smaller!

Ebook

Can carry thousands of books in one hand