Good Things in 2015

For the past few years I have written down all the good things that happen each year and put them in a jar. Last year was no different. Though I didn't get many written down in 2015 since it was quite a rough year so I thought I would look at some of the good things that I wrote down and share them with you.

The first thing I pulled out was "My 19th Birthday" which I remember very well as it was in December. I saw my family and had a really good time with them and ate lots of cake. I didn't do anything spectacular for my birthday but it was one of the best days of 2015.

Next is "BBC RADIO 1 BIG WEEKEND" which is probably the most memorable day of 2015, one of the most amazing days of my life. I went on the Sunday and I saw Imagine Dragons, Olly Murs and Taylor Swift (to name a few) and it was incredible. Though I had a panic attack halfway through and my aunts had to guide me out of the crowd and I got hella embarrassed. I remember seeing Dan and Phil on the stage and freaking out more than when I saw Taylor Swift. I only got to go because it was held in my city and my amazing aunts got us tickets.

Then there's "Spending the day with Paige watching DVDs" the first day I ever watched How I Met Your Mother because she brought the DVDs round. I just know that it was a fun day and it was really good seeing Britcher the Ninja Paige.

Another says "Pretty Little Liars" as I first watched PLL in 2015 and ended up watching 5 seasons because I loved it so much. Its now one of my favourite TV shows ever and I am so excited to watch season 6.

Finally there's "Getting a new Laptop" which is what I am using to write this post. I only had an ipad mini and my phone for so long, I needed something bigger and better and so I managed to get a wonderful new laptop (I say new but it used to belong to my dad until he got a new one and offered it to me for a good price what dad makes their child pay for things) and I really love it.

That's all I shall put in this post, just a few of my good memories from last year.

Claire xoxo

January TBR

This year I've decided to do a TBR (to be read) for each month of the year instead of faffing about trying to choose which book to read next. Therefore I shall tell you my January TBR incase anyone else is struggling to pick which books to read this month.

1) Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

I have already read this book and written a blog post about it, I highly recommend it; 10/10 would read. It's the first book of the Lunar Chronicles so if you read it prepare to end up reading the rest of the series.

2) Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can't seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse—Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy's mom finds out, she knows it's time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he'll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends—one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena—Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods.

I am currently halfway through this book. I think I put off reading it because I'd seen the film and I never enjoy books as much if I've already seen the film but once I got going I found out it was really good and quite different to the film too. So far so good, hopefully I'll make a full blog post about it once I finish it.

3) Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

Summers span decades. Winter can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun.
As Warden of the north, Lord Eddard Stark counts it a curse when King Robert bestows on him the office of the Hand. His honour weighs him down at court where a true man does what he will, not what he must … and a dead enemy is a thing of beauty.
The old gods have no power in the south, Stark’s family is split and there is treachery at court. Worse, the vengeance-mad heir of the deposed Dragon King has grown to maturity in exile in the Free Cities. He claims the Iron Throne.

I am actually about 3/4 of the way through this and I don't know why I haven't finished it yet because its really good. But I'm terrible with starting another book when I haven't finished the one I was reading before. Hence, this is in my January TBR.

4) Magisterium: The Copper Gauntlet by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

Callum Hunt’s summer break isn’t like other kids’. His closest companion is a Chaos-ridden wolf, Havoc. His father suspects him of being secretly evil. And, of course, most kids aren’t heading back to the magical world of the Magisterium in the fall.
It’s not easy for Call . . . and it gets even harder after he checks out his basement and discovers that his dad might be trying to destroy both him and Havoc.
Call escapes to the Magisterium -- but things only intensify there. The Alkahest -- a copper gauntlet capable of separating certain magicians from their magic -- has been stolen. And in their search to discover the culprit, Call and his friends Aaron and Tamara awaken the attention of some very dangerous foes -- and get closer to an even more dangerous truth.

This is the second book in the magisterium series and I'm really looking forward to reading it as the first one was pretty good I'm sure it will only get more exciting. Plus Holly Black and Cassandra Clare are both brilliant authors.

5) Matched by Ally Condie

In the Society, officials decide. Who you love. Where you work. When you die.
Cassia has always trusted their choices. It’s hardly any price to pay for a long life, the perfect job, the ideal mate. So when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is the one…until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now Cassia is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path no one else has ever dared follow—between perfection and passion.

A book I've had for a while but just haven't gotten round to reading yet. It sounds really exciting and I cant wait to read it.

Claire xoxo

Cinder

I just read Cinder; the first book of the Lunar Chronicles, by Marissa Meyer. It is one of the best book I have ever read and immediately after I finished it I went on amazon and ordered the next three books (can you hear my bank account crying in the distance) because I loved it so much. This is more of a rant than any kind of a review because I suck at reviewing things and I can rant for days about this book. Just a warning; there will be spoilers so read at your own risk.

So, Cinder is part cyborg and she's the main character, she's a teenage girl who works as a mechanic. Her step mum hates her and one of her stepsisters hates her but I think Peony likes her. She also has this friend who is a cyborg called Iko who is the funniest character in the book. Cinder meets the Prince, Kai, who asks her to fix his android. There's a plague going around and Cinder's sister Peony catches it and so her step mum sends her away to be one of the trial cyborgs to help find a cure. When shes there she finds out shes immune. Theres these people called Lunars who live on the moon and who have special abilities. The Queen of the Lunars, Queen Levana, wants to marry Prince Kai so that she can become empress since Kai's father has the plague and will probably die soon.

I love Cinder because she puts up with so much shit and she's so happy just when she gets a new foot and her only friend is an android. But she's so positive and she tries to help Peony by giving her the cure but then Peony dies and she gives it to the little boy. She just wants to run her own life instead of having her stupid step mum rule her life. Plus even though she likes Kai she believes that she doesn't stand a chance with him because even if she wasn't part cyborg she would still be a nobody whos not worthy of a prince. And it makes it worse when she finds out shes also Lunar.

Prince Kai is a persistent little fucker. "Go to the ball with me, go to the ball with me, go to the god damn ball with me." Cinder has to say no like a billion times. But she goes anyway so she can warn him about the evil bitch queen who's going to kill him. He's pretty much the perfect guy if I'm honest. I mean, hes a prince so hes probably rich but he's not snobby or conceited. He cares a lot about his people and always puts them first even though hes only like 18 and he may have to marry some bitch to keep everyone safe.

Cinder turns out to be Princess Selene, I fucking called it! I knew it from the moment they said that they didn't find Princess Selene's body, just what was left of it. I was like "I bet its Cinder!" and it was. So now she must defeat Queen Levana to take her rightful place on the throne and win back Prince Kai.

Overall, I really loved this book. It's probably in my top five favourite books of all time. Definitely worth reading if you haven't already.

Snowbaz is Life, Snowbaz is Everything

Today, I need to discuss a very important topic with you all. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell. The most incredible, amazing, wonderful, gay book I've read in quite some time. Carry On is like fanfiction but its actually canon and oh wow its amazing. Did I say that already? I suggest reading Rowell's other book Fangirl before you read Carry On, but you don't have to. Carry On is based on the made-up books from Fangirl and its kind of like reading a Draco and Harry fanfiction. But so much cooler because its a real book and not some short crappy fanfiction with bad grammar written by a twelve year old. I warn you in advance my rant is messy and contains spoilers so read at your own risk.

Simon Snow is the worst chosen one who's ever been chosen.

Okay, I'm a big fan of both Fangirl and Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell which is what led me to read Carry On and boy did it not disappoint. First of all Simon Snow is a cutie patootie who makes lists about things he misses most about Watford but doesn't include Baz on his list (probably because he thinks about Baz so much that he doesn't need to put him in the list to remember him). I love his friendship with Penelope. Actually, I just really love Penelope.

My first spaz fangirl moment was at the end of page 176

"And when I felt myself slipping too far, I held on to the one thing I'm always sure of-

Blue eyes.

Bronze Curls.

The fact that Simon Snow is the most powerful magician alive. That nothing can hurt him, not even me.

That Simon Snow is alive.

And I'm hopelessly in love with him."

I love snowbaz. I really love Baz's love for Simon. The way he says that nothing can hurt him, not even himself, because he's holding on to the fact that Simon is going to be okay. That Simon is alive. That's the only thing that's keeping him going. As long as Simon is okay he can hold on.

"Sharing a room with the person you want most is like sharing a room with an open fire."

Because Baz is a vampire and fire kills vampires, but at the same time; Simon is warm and bright. Baz can't keep away, even if he gets himself killed.

The fact that they say "Crowley" all the time makes me think of Supernatural and I just omfg imagine Crowley in Carry On like "why is everyone gay? Its just like Dean and Cas but with vampires and fucking wizards lets try not to imagine a Carry On/Supernatural crossover shall we?

Right, we're going to get down to the good stuff now. Lets start at chapter 61. In this short chapter Baz mentions wanting to kiss Simon five times. Then Simon kisses him. Apparently to shut him up because Baz is kind of trying to kill himself with fire and its all very dramatic and Baz cant think. I'd also like to point out that Baz calls him Simon for the fist time right before Simon kisses him.  

"He's not a monster. He's just a villain.

He's not a villain. He's just a boy.

I'm kissing a boy.

I'm kissing Baz."

At which point I think Simon realizes his feelings for Baz. That he doesn't hate him and just because he's a vampire doesn't mean he's a monster and he loves him.

"I'm going to die kissing Simon Snow."

What a way to go Baz.

"If Baz thinks I'm ever letting him go, he's wrong."

Simon wants to keep Baz because he loves him and god why did it take you so long to realize that you stupid mushroom its so cute.

"Simon snow is going to die kissing me."

This is what Baz thinks before he stops being an idiot and pulls himself together. He doesn't want Simon to die, he has to save him.

"Simon Snow is still going to die kissing me.

Just not today."

Baz admitting that he wants to stay with Simon forever. And he will even if Simon now has wings and a tail, it just gives him more character, right? I just imagine people constantly tripping over his tail with no clue what is happening because they cant see it and Simon and Baz will have to try not to laugh at all the humans who are clueless as to why they're tripping over thin air.

But have you ever come across a ship as amazing as snowbaz (apart from malec obvs) because they were supposed to kill each other but they ended up falling in love and if that's not the most ironic thing ever then I don't know what is.

Claire xoxo

P.S. I don't even know what this is, I just have so many feels about snowbaz I had to share it.