My Favourite Places

Hello everyone! I hope you're having a good day, I certainly am- I finished my exams on Monday and now have a two week break, happy days! I figured I should start posting more than once a week but I simply don't read enough books to update with a book review twice a week. So, as a compromise, I'm going to trial doing a 'lifestyle' post every Wednesday. As I said this is only a trial so if you don't like the new posts then just comment and I'll go back to regular old book blogging. I was kinda stuck for a first post to do, as I didn't want to rip off another blogs recipe or craft idea so for this week I'm going to do a travel related post. Basically this is a list of my favourite places in the whole wide world, I've been relatively vague, as there's no point describing my favourite beauty spot in a rural Scottish town as you'll have no clue what I'm on about. So let's get started;

1. Perth, Scotland

Now I realize that the current hipster rule book requires you to regularly complain about how rubbish your home town is and how you cannot wait to escape to the dizzy heights of New York or Paris, but I absolutely adore where I live. Okay, so it's not exactly Wisteria Lane, and it certainly has it's.. less desirable areas, but as a whole Perth is pretty picturesque. 

Perth is kinda small, despite recently having received city status, with a population of around 40,000, but it used to be a big trade city due to the big river that runs through the middle, the river Tay. From the point of view of the picture above, the town is to the left of the river and to the right are housing areas, parks, and roads going out North and South of the town. Basically, compared to some areas of Scotland, Perth is not too bad, and I certainly never want to be too far away from here when I grow up. 

2. Orlando, Florida

Anyone whose ever been to Orlando will tell you that it is the absolute best holiday destination, in the entire world. No matter how old you are, there is something majorly cool about Disneyworld, and when I was lucky enough to go in 2011, the 5 year old in me was freaking out (and, let's be honest, the 14 year old was freaking out too.) It's definitely not cheap, but for a relatively small and accessible area, there are a million and one things to do. 

We went for two weeks and managed to fit in all four Disney parks (Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom) plus the two Universal Parks (Islands of Adventures and Universal Studios) as well as a water park. 

However there are hundreds of other famous attraction like Wet and Wild, Cirque du Soleil and Seaworld. The shopping is unbelievable too, with several massive malls within a short drive of the theme parks too. I probably sound like I'm being paid to sell this place to you, but I don't need too, there's something for absolutely everyone, and if you can afford it- then go. 

3. Rome/Sorrento, Italy 

Yes, I know this is two places, but they needed to be a joint choice as I visited both during a week long school trip last year. I can honestly say that travelling a foreign country with people who aren't your family makes for the best trips. We traveled to Rome and stayed there for several days before bus-ing our way to Sorrento, a town near Naples, and a short drive from both Vesuvius and Pompeii. 

Firstly, Rome is wonderful, it is definitely not the prettiest of cities and it's rather bizarre as you are able to go from walking through a crowded city street to standing in front of the Colosseum within a minute. The sites are beautiful and relatively easily accessible, we managed to do a walking whistle stop tour which took us across Rome to the edge of the Vatican, and back again within one day. The Colosseum is magnificent and slightly surreal, the Pantheon is beautiful and my absolute favourite, the view from the top of St Peter's Basilica, as seen above, is breathtaking. 

However, despite the historical wonder of Rome, I felt that the seaside town of Sorrento was my favourite part of the trip. We stayed in a small town called Vico Equense, a short trains journey from Sorrento and we were within a train ride from some of the most famous areas of Italy, as well as the aforementioned Vesuvius and Pompeii, Herculaneum and Naples were easily accessible. The town itself was beautiful and had many small traditional Italian shops, so both the shopper and the historian in me were extremely satisfied.   

4. Nerja, Spain 

Nerja is perhaps the least interesting of my foreign choices however if you are looking for a city to go for a family holiday or perhaps a couples retreat, this is by far my favourite place. The only foreign area my family and I have visited twice, Nerja is in the South of Spain, about an hours drive from Malaga airport. 

There are several historical areas of Nerja and they are famed for the beautiful caves near the city which are well worth a visit, as long as you don't mind the feeling of being underground. However the main factor that makes Nerja appeal to me is that it is the perfect Spanish city for a family holiday, the city itself contains hundreds of hotels, apartments and self-catering villas and the surrounding areas are filled with small ocean towns and villages. The city is about an hour from Granada, and if you're up for a longer trip, about two hours from Gibraltar. As a teenager, I love it, and my younger sister adores it too, if it wasn't for my desire to see as much of the world in as short as time as possible, I would be perfectly happy staying in Nerja year after year. Financially, it's not as dear as many other Spanish cities and towns too. 

5. Tomich, Scotland

My last, and most favourite choice, is a little closer to home, nestled in the North of Scotland, north of Loch Ness and about an hour South-West of Inverness, lies the tiny town of Tomich. 

Tiny is a bit of an understatement really, as the town has a population of under 100 and really consists of a hotel and a self-catering lodge resort. The lodge resort is where I have spent several extremely happy holidays with my family and it is, in my opinion, the most beautiful area in Scotland (if you get the weather!!) 

Basically, you need a car, but once you have the ability to travel there are hundreds of things to see within an hours drive. To start off with, there are the ruins of the old Guisachan House, as well as Plodda Falls and several other waterfalls and natural beauty spots within 15 minutes. The resort and hotel themselves are wonderful, and if you go in the Summer or early Autumn then the lodge resort, 'Tomich Holidays' has a pool which guests can use. 

As mentioned before, Inverness is near enough and who doesn't love a visit to the (many) Loch Ness Monster attractions in nearby Drumnadrochit (drum-na-draw-kit.) The pictures above are my own, taken in March this year on an iPhone, so you don't need high tech equipment to see the beauty of the area. Tomich is a place very close to my heart and is somewhere I intend on taking children of my own one day too.  

Phew! Finished, hope you guys enjoyed this- and as I mentioned at the start, I'll be back with a book post this weekend. If you enjoyed this then give me a follow or +1 this on Google (if anyone uses that!) and feel free to give me a comment saying hey! 

Rachel x

Favourite 5 Book Series'

Happy Friday everyone, hope you've all had a wonderful week! This week’s post is going to be a ‘5 Series of Books’ post. I was originally going to do 10, but after last week’s marathon ’10 books..’ post, the thought of doing ten this week made me feel a little bit ill. I’ll add a paragraph at the end with a few notable other series’ that you should check out! (Disclaimer: as per, these are my opinions, I am not the be all and end all of book readers, so please don’t get too annoyed if my choices don’t match up with yours!)

 1.  The Harry Potter Series by J K Rowling
Books in the series: Harry Potter and the; Philosopher’s Stone, Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban, Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, Half-Blood Prince, Deathly Hallows

Need I even explain? Come on guys, it’s Potter. In my opinion, the best series of books ever written, has inspired millions of spin off books, dozens of extremely popular websites, a musical, and let’s not even mention the fan fiction. If you need a book for anyone aged between 8 and 108, you can give them the Potter books. Unrivalled in its popularity, the Potter series is worth billions of pounds and the movies are some of the best book to movie adaptions ever. I’m not revealing anything from the series, except that well… Harry’s a wizard (SORRY- SPOILER ALERT.) There are enough books to keep you going for a considerable period of time, and re-reading is definitely an option. Honestly, if you enjoy reading or if you can read at all- give these books a try.

 2  . A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
Books in the series: The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room, The Wide Window, The Miserable Mill, The Austere Academy, The Ersatz Elevator, The Vile Village, The Hostile Hospital, The Carnivorous Carnival, The Slippery Slope, The Grim Grotto, The Penultimate Peril, The End

'A Series of Unfortunate Events' follows the trials and tribulations of the Baudelaire orphans, Klaus, Violet and Sunny , after they lose both of their parents in a tragic house fire. One of the most famous series’ of books ever, I read these between the ages of 8 and 11 but I’d still re-read them as there was a lot of the darker humour that I didn’t grasp before. Plus, there were a lot of long words in these books, which you can probably tell from the varied vocabulary in the titles. These books go against every ‘rule’ in the book for children’s and young adult writing, but they work. The only thing I have against these books is that I didn’t particularly enjoy book 13 as much as I hoped I would.

 3. The Wolves of Mercy Falls by Maggie Stiefvater

Books in the series: Shiver, Linger, Forever

I confess, I have ‘Forever’ sitting in my book cupboard and yet I have not read it, but ‘Shiver’ and ‘Linger’ are two of my most loved books ever and I’m sure ‘Forever’ will be the same. The books focus on Grace, a young girl with an affinity for the wolves which inhabit the woods around her home, and Sam, a boy who just so happens to be a wolf. Without spoiling too much, their relationship develops and they end up fighting both humans and wolves. They make some friends along the way and the storyline develops brilliantly. Perhaps not the most intellectually challenging books you will read but definitely worth picking up as I had to read both of these books in one go, they are that hard to put down.

 4.  House of Night series by PC and Kirstin Cast
Books in the series; Marked, Betrayed, Chosen, Untamed, Hunted, Tempted, Burned, Awakened, Destined, Hidden, Revealed, Redeemed (Italics – unreleased) 

The House of Night series is a vampire series, but it’s not particularly Twilight-esque due to the fact that the main heroine, Zoey Redbird, is a million times cooler than all the Twilight characters put together. She’s 16 and is turned into a Vampyre at the beginning of Marked, so she enrols in the (slightly creepy) House of Night School for fledgling vampires. She soon meets friends and boyfriends and is having a nice little time of it before a war practically breaks loose amongst the Vampyres. Basically, all hell breaks loose over the course of the next few books and there are some major plot twists. I just love Zoey because despite her (major) other problems, she still manages to do really human things like mess up with her boyfriend or fall out with friends.

 5.  The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clara
Books in the Series; City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass, City of Fallen Angels, City of Lost Souls, City of Heavenly Fire 

I’ve spoken about this series of books before in lots of posts, they were recommended to me by my best friend and oh.my.gosh. These are my new favourite books, so far I’ve only read City of Bones, Ashes and Glass but I plan on buying the next two as soon as possible. The main character is Clary Fray, a young girl who sees a fight in a bar before realising that she is the only one who is able to see the brawlers. The story unfolds that she is not simply a human and is able to see the world of The Shadowhunters, a race intended to protect humanity from Demons, Vampires, Werewolves and other mythical creatures. Clary’s mother is taken and she is rescued by Jace, a young shadowhunter. The books are amazing, there’s a movie coming out in the winter and you should read them, soon.

Honourable mentions should also go to the Twilight Saga, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series and to The Hunger Games for being brilliant. I think I might post twice this upcoming week as I’m off school due to exam leave. Comment below with post ideas and some of you guys’ favourite series’! 

Rachel x

10 Books You Must Read!

Morning everyone, as I'm sure you're all aware, we've finally reached Friday! I think I'm going to start making posts weekly on a Friday now, as I got slightly overexcited last night and came up with about a months worth of content for you guys. This week I've decided to do a '10 Books that you HAVE to read' type post, as there are some books that you just shouldn't live without reading. (Disclaimer: these are MY opinion, please don't shout at me if your favourite book isn't here!) This could be a long post, so let's get started; my top 10 books you must read (in no particular order) are;

1. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

This book is narrated by death, and if that isn't enough to get you interested then I don't know what you're looking for in a book. I read this when I was 11, but it is aimed for much older readers and I have re-read it twice since to get a proper grasp of the genius that is this book. It's set in Nazi Germany and follows a young girl called Liesel who starts to steal books during WWII. Read it. Now. 

2. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J K Rowling

This is a slightly cheeky choice, I adore the Harry Potter books but really you'd have to read all seven to get a proper grasp of the storyline, and POA is my absolute favourite of all the books, maybe because it's also my favourite film, or maybe it's just because it's one of the less appreciated books in the series. I don't know, but I do know that nobody older than 10 should have not read a Harry Potter book in their life (and no, seeing the films does not count.)

3. The Fault in our Stars by John Green

Possibly the hottest book around right now, if you haven't read of this book then you clearly haven't set foot on Tumblr (in which case, RUN and don't go anywhere near the site) or heard any of the news about the upcoming film starring Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort. Despite the slightly crazy reputation it is gaining, this is a genuinely wonderful book. TFIOS is the closest I've come to crying at a book in recent years, you will laugh and most probably cry. Not to be read if you enjoy extremely happy endings however. 

4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

The coolest book I've ever read, many will argue that it started the sci-fi genre but regardless of whether you know your R2-D2's from your blu-rays, you will love this book. The book begins with Earth's imminent destruction to make room for a hyperspace bypass, Arthur Dent, an exceptionally normal human, and his friend Ford Prefect are (very luckily) picked up by first the aliens who are demolishing the planet, and then by Ford's cousin Zaphod Beeblebrox. I'm not going into any more detail or I'll get extremely confused, but this book is laugh out loud funny and extremely clever, and the 4 sequels are brilliant too!

5. Divergent by Veronica Roth

I've already done a blog post on this, so scroll down for a more in depth review, but Divergent is brilliant. This is another book with an upcoming movie release, and I personally cannot wait. Not a difficult read, so great for any young adult or older!

6. Skin Deep by Laura Jarratt 

I've only read one book by Laura Jarratt, but it was a brilliant one. Skin Deep centers around Jenna, who was left permanently disfigured by a car accident which also killed her best friend. She is pretty damn miserable, understandably, until she meets Ryan, who's a traveller. They get close and their relationship develops. Both of their back stories are wonderfully moving, and it really opens your eyes to the suffering that disfigured people go through. Beautiful. 

7. Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Another one of the books that you could only have missed if you were living under a rock. Perks is brilliant, the book really addresses both mental issues and the struggles of growing up. I believe that adult critics describe as a 'coming of age' novel. It is wonderful, I loved it, the movie was brilliant and you have to read it.

8. Inventing Elliot by Graham Gardener 

Inventing Elliot centers around Elliot Sutton, a 14 year old boy who attempts to reinvent himself when moving school, at his new school he discovers a society called The Guardians, a group of older students who basically orchestrate bullying at their school. Elliot then has to choose between his new found popularity and his own conscious. It's clever, brilliant and (without trying to sound cliched) very thought provoking. 

9. 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Thirteen Reasons Why is told from the perspective of Clay Jensen, a young boy whose crush Hannah Baker had committed suicide several weeks before. Clay receives a box of cassette tapes containing the reasons why Hannah committed suicide, they work like a chain letter and explain to 13 people the role they played in her death. Ridiculously moving, wonderfully sad and completely engrossing, the style makes it extremely hard to read this book in sections, definitely an 'all in one go' kind of book! 

10. A Note of Madness by Tabitha Suzuma

Basically, this is the best book I've ever read. ANOM centers around Flynn, a young and extremely talented pianist at a music college. He suffers from manic depression and the story follows him in his attempt to overcome the depression that is ruining his life. I borrowed this book from the library and unfortunately had to return it, but I've recently discovered that there is a second novel, and I CANNOT wait to read it. This is a wonderful book, it shows depression in its most raw form. I adore it. 

PHEW, this post has taken me almost an hour to write, and if you've stuck with me till the end then you've definitely done enough reading for today. But honestly, read these books, they're brilliant. Also, if you have any to recommend to me, then leave a comment! Have a good weekend!

City of Bones

Hello everyone, I hope you're having an excellent week! 

The book I'm reviewing today is City of Glass by Cassandra Clare, the first part of The Mortal Instruments series. The book introduces us to Clary, a seemingly ordinary girl who suddenly discovers she is able to see demons, shadow hunters and other fantastical creatures. Shortly after, her mother is taken from her, she meets Jace, Alec, Hodge and Isabelle, shadow hunters who's job it is to kill the demons that inhabit this world and protect the human.

Basically the first book centres around Clary 'discovering' who she is, who her parents really are and all about the world of the Shadowhunters. Inevitably, there's a love triangle, more than one attractive male, and a movie coming out in August in both the UK and the US and I personally cannot wait. The book is brilliant so I really just hope they do a good job with the film! My best friend is the biggest fan of these books and I completely owe her for getting me into them! So yeah, cheers Alex!

Sadly I feel like when the movie comes out there will be a whole wave of Hunger Games esque 'fan girls' and it will be compared to Twilight. While I want this book and the subsequent movie to get as much attention as it deserves, as it's now one of my favourite books ever, I really really want all of you to go out, pick up this book (seriously it's only 2.99 in The Works) and sit and read it. You'll thank me after. Promise.

Overall- ★★★★★
Plot- ★★★★☆
Characters- ★★★★★
Books I'd compare it too: tentatively saying that the love triangle and 'monsters' are a little like twilight. Writing style is quite like Veronica Roth or Maggie Stievater.

Just as a side note, not all of the books I review will be receiving such glowing reviews, it just happens that I've read a few AMAZING books lately, and I'm currently reading the 2nd part of this series which has been brilliant so far, so perhaps the next couple of books will be good too! I'm thinking about making a 'books I definitely wouldn't recommend' post which will be going up in the next couple of weeks!

Have a wonderful day!

Rachel x

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Evening folks,

It's been an absolute age since I last posted, I mean really, 2 months is unacceptable. However it does mean that I have a pile of 'read' books that I intend to review! I figured I'd start off with the one I read the first, so today I'm going to be reviewing 'Divergent' by Veronica Roth.

First off, I absolutely adored this book, I'd heard really good reviews of it from all over the web, so I was obviously quite far behind on this particular series! Divergent is the first in a trilogy of books, with a second book Insurgent having been released last year and the final book Allegiant expected sometime this Autumn in the UK. The book takes place in Chicago in the (relatively) near future, and centres around Tris (Beatrice) Prior, a young girl. Without going into too much detail, this future society that Tris lives in is split into 5 factions, Abnegation, Erudite, Dauntless, Amity and Candor. Each of these factions represent a different virtue of humanity, for example Abnegation people are selfless. Tris is born Abnegation but everything changes when she takes her aptitude test, which all 16 year olds take, to decide which faction they are best suited too.  

This is one packed book, a lot happens in a short space of time but I never felt like I didn't understand bits of  it. It's clear and well planned and still manages to be fast paced. The book reminds me slightly of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins with the whole 'warped future society' themes, as well as the 'training' that Tris goes through once she selects her faction. The main characters are extremely well described, and I especially liked that Tris is portrayed as being 'weak' enough to make her relatable. 

My main problem with the book is that the ending seemed a bit rushed, there is a very large section in the middle where a lot happens without there being any major plot development, which is followed as 5 or so chapters of manic action. This doesn't take away from my overall love for the book, or my desire to read Insurgent (which I purchased recently, so expect a review soonish) but I feel like doing nothing but praise the books I review is silly.

Overall ★★★★☆

Plot ★★★★ ☆
Characters★★★★☆
Themes★★★★★
Books I'd compare it too: The Hunger Games, and Tris reminds me slightly of Cary in The Mortal Instruments series