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.

New Years Resolutions for 2016

So, its nearly 2016 and I figured I would do something trashy and unoriginal. You guessed it, I'm going to think of some new years resolutions. (Everyone groans and throws their laptops out of the window) I know it's terribly cliché and way over used but I do it every year and I cant stop the tradition now. So without further ado, my new years resolutions for 2016!

1) lose weight - this is something that always pops up in my new years resolutions and its no different this year. Lets hope I can actually achieve it this time. (probably not)

2) read more - this year I had a very bad reading slump and I plan to make up for it next year.

3) get out more - as an anti-social, anxiety-suffering freak of nature I plan to go out more and see people next year.

4) spend less money - I spent so much money on make up and books over the past year its ridiculous so I need to save and not spend.

5) learn Korean - last year in my new years resolutions I wanted to start learning a new language and I picked Korean, but as you can probably guess I haven't learnt much and so this year I want to actually learn some.

6) get better - with the help of Emma, my parents and myself I hope to be able to get better next year so that I can live a normal life and have a job or go to college.

7) be happy - something I struggle with on a daily basis which will come hand in hand with getting better, hopefully 2016 will bring good things for me.

Sorry for being such trash. I could only think of seven. I hope you all have a great new year and I'll post again in 2016.

Claire xoxo

It's Been A While

It's been quite some time since I last posted on my blog. It's been an...interesting year. But I got a new laptop today and I was sorting everything out on it and I was like "Hey, I haven't posted on my blog in forever!" so  I thought I would make a post.

I'm now nineteen. Yes, I know, an adult. Sort of. I don't feel nineteen, nor do I look nineteen. But I am starting to get my life back on track, slowly. This year has mostly been about me trying to get better, key word: trying. But right now I'm okay, I'm getting out more and I'm opening up more instead of bottling it all up.

Christmas was good. My mum and I done food for all the family as most of them came to see us. Though my aunt and uncle on my dad's side didn't see us; because they hate us, and my aunt and uncle on my mum's side didn't come and see us either; because they were too busy. So it was just my mum's parents, my dad's parents and my mum's sister and her wife. but it was nice, I enjoyed seeing them all. I got a lot of makeup and some clothes and a little bit of chocolate. Definitely not as many books as last year. I've got two bookcases full of books so I'm trying to limit myself to only a couple of new books a month.

I'm going to try to post more on my blog from now on, and make it interesting. Though I'll probably just end up rambling on about books most of the time.

Claire xoxo

I Dont Know What to Call This But it's an Update Post

Last week I had training at the kennels and it was one of the best weeks ever! It was really hard, tiring labour type work. But it was amazing. I've been wanting to work with animals for so long and I've been volunteering up there for ages and now I get to work there on the odd occasion to cover for holidays and sickness. It's really nice to be a lot more involved and the girls that work there are so lovely. I know it's not a full time job, it's not even a part time job really I suppose, but it's a start.

I worked from 9-4 from Monday to Wednesday and then probably from about 8/8:30-4 on Thursday and Friday. I was so tired by the end of the week and I had blisters but it was worth it. All the dogs are so lovely and although I spent a lot of time cleaning up poop and cleaning kennels I really enjoyed it and I would love to do something like that as my full time job.

There are now 22 dogs at the kennels and normally there's only one person there for most of the day, apart from the volunteer walkers who normally help by walking the dogs in the morning, so it's a lot of work for the girls and so I've been going in and helping all day without actually being paid to do it. I am such a good person.

On another note, I have finished season 8 of Supernatural but season 9 doesn't come out on DVD until June. I don't know what I'm going to do with my life now. I guess I'll just have to watch it all from the beginning again.

Unfortunately I also have some bad news. The other day I had a bit of a break down? I don't know what to call it really. It was horrible and I am now going to be seeing my doctor on Thursday. But don't worry, I'll be fine haha! Hopefully things may finally be sorted out, I don't know what I'll do if things aren't sorted out.

Also, my mum has had her hair cut quite short and dyed it purple. I think she's having midlife crisis or something. It worries me.

I hope you're all having a fantastic week and I will see you soon. Maybe.

Stay in school. Don't do drugs. Be happy.

Claire :)

Supernatural Rant

Okay, story time. So, for Christmas (last year) I asked for the first season of Supernatural on DVD. I'd heard that Supernatural was really good and so I wanted to give it a go and see it I liked it. I got season 1 for Christmas from my aunts and we ended up watching a few episodes on Christmas day (because how else do you spend Christmas but watching two hot brothers killing demons) and I fell in love with it.

Then we ended up finishing season 1 and what else could I do but buy the next season. And each time I finished a season I would buy the next season. It's currently February and we are in the middle if season 6. I own season 7 and I think I may be obsessed.

That is how I got into Supernatural and now I shall rant about the first five seasons (because that's as far as I've got) and you can either continue reading or leave because you don't like supernatural or you don't want any spoilers.

First of all, my favourite character was originally Sam but then Castiel came into it and now he's my favourite. Plus Misha Collins is amazing. I ship Destiel. Obviously. Every time Dean is in a bad situation I just say "Where the hell is Cas?" Because he should be there to save his boyfriend.

If anyone did not realise that Ruby was bad from the start then you should leave, right now. She's was demon. There's no such thing as a good demon. Plus, she made Sam drink demon blood which is very very bad. I didn't like her from the beginning anyway, she was really annoying. And don't even get me started on Crowley being evil, although he's not annoying. I actually quite like Crowley. Even if he is evil. He's the kind of evil that you can't help but like.

I love Cas.

Can I just ask, how many more times are Sam and Dean going to die and then come back to life again? It's like "Oh shit I died again." Then suddenly they're alive again and it's like "Well, I guess I'm back." Not that I'm really complaining, I don't want them to die (and stay dead). Also, I have been proven wrong because I always thought that Bobby would die quite early on but he just keeps kicking (apart from that one time when he was in a wheelchair because he lost the use of his legs) which I'm actually glad about because I love Bobby and I don't want him to die.

When I was younger I was a giant wimp (I kind of still am) and I used to hate anything that was even slightly scary. But now it's like if someone's head gets chopped off I'm just like "Well that must have hurt." I have grown as a person. It's like if I'm out at night, in the dark, alone I just think "It's okay, if a demon tries to kill me then Sam and Dean will save me."

Anyway, if you've never seen Supernatural the you should definitely watch it, it's amazing. I recommend it to everyone, except demons, I don't think demons would like it.

Claire :)