February Reads

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas (3/5*s)

ACOTAR follows Feyre, an 19 year old huntress, as she adapts to life in a new magical realm after killing a Fae. The worst thing I did before reading ACOTAR was re-read Throne of Glass. I couldn't help but compare the two books, and I just didn't enjoy A Court of Thorns of Roses as much. Firstly, I felt that the world that Feyre lived in, and the different creatures the dwelled there, could have been explained much better to the reader. Even by the end of the book I was confused about the differences between Fae, High Fae and High Lords. Secondly, I did feel particularly attached to any of the characters, unlike Throne of Glass where I was quite invested in what happened. And finally, I did not like the ending - it was way too Twilight-like for my liking. However, I did really like the majority of the storyline and I can't wait to see what happens next - I just didn't like it as much as Throne of Glass.

City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1) by Cassandra Clare (5/5*s)

City of Bones follows Clary Fray as she encounters the world of Shadowhunters and tries to save her mother from the evil Valentine. The Mortal Instruments series has been around for nearly 10 years now and for some reason I decided that it didn't appeal to me, but I thought I'd finally give it a try since the new TV show has come out. I am so glad I did! Even though I guessed nearly all of the plot twists, and parts of it were clearly based on Harry Potter, I really loved this book. I can tell this series is going to be my new obsession and I can't wait to buy the next few books!

Shadow and Bone (The Grisha #1) by Leigh Bardugo (4/5*s)
Shadow and Bone centres around Alina - an orphan who discovers she has a unique power that throws her into the world of the Grisha and the Darkling. I didn't enjoy this as much as I enjoyed Six of Crows and I have a feeling it's one of the over-hyped series. I also would have liked more background on the Grisha as I found myself getting confused early on with the different powers and names! Overall I did like the story and the characters but I didn't think it was as brilliant as Six of Crows.

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer (4/5*s)
The Lunar Chronicles is based on four fairytale retellings, with Cinder based on Cinderella. This retelling comes with a twist - Cinder is a cyborg. Cinder follows the main character as her life becomes intertwined with Prince Kai and the evil Queen Levana. I'm surprised how much I loved this by the end because I wasn't that interested at the beginning. Once Queen Levana was introduced the story really picked up and I found myself getting invested in it. I can't wait to see where the story goes!

City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments #2) by Cassandra Clare (3/5*s)
City of Ashes picks up straight after City of Bones, and follows Clary as she tries to stop Valentine from gaining another Mortal Instrument and find a way to wake her mother up. I didn't think this was as good as City of Bones - it seemed a bit like a filler book and nothing really happened until the end battle, which was over within 20 pages. I'm hoping the next book picks up again because I am really loving this series!

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (3/5*s)
The Song of Achilles centres around an exiled Prince, Patroclus, and he becomes immersed in Prince Achilles world and fights against Troy to save Helen of Sparta. I think this has been my most disappointing read of the year so far. It's not that I didn't enjoy it - I just didn't connect with it. I loved how it was written, and spanned over 20 years of Patroclus and Achilles' lives, but I didn't connect with the characters and I wasn't invested in it. I also really disliked Achilles by the end! Not a bad book but definitely not my favourite.

Re-reads: Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1) by Sarah J Maas (5/5*s)

What did you read in February? P.S. You can keep up-to-date my my book challenge progress over on Goodreads!

New York Fashion Week AW16 Days 2 & 3 / Fenty Puma, Alexander Wang & Monique Lhuillier

FENTY PUMA BY RIHANNA

The day after Yeezy Season 3 another famous face unveiled their new collection - Fenty x Puma by Rihanna. Compared to West's show, it was much more subdued, but still brilliant in it's own right. Rihanna's collection featured a variety of hoodie-dresses, thigh-high boots, stiletto sneakers and takes on the classic bomber jacket. The looks were shown in what has been described as an 'arctic urban forest', and came in a monochrome colour palette. Although Puma is primarily sportswear brand, it's clear that the inspiration for this collection came from the urban street style that Rihanna is known for. And with models sporting dark lips and 90's chokers, it also had a distinct gothic feel.

ALEXANDER WANG

Four months on from Wang's final collection for Balenciaga, came his FW16 collection for his own-brand label. Wang's FW16 collection couldn't have been further away from Balenciaga, taking inspiration from the late 80s and early 90s. FW16 contained plenty of slogan sweatshirts, mini dresses, skirt suits which were reminiscent of Chanel and a fur-lined jacket. With patterns varied from marijuana leaves to classic stripes and tartan, Wang's new collection wasn't exactly groundbreaking but it will definitely sell well.

MONIQUE LHUILLIER

With the inspiration for the Monique Lhuillier show coming from Talitha Getty, the FW16 collection was definitely aimed at a more eccentric woman. The collection featured an abundance of beautiful dresses, each with their own unique pattern and detailing, coming in vibrant and appealing colours.

New York Fashion Week AW16 Day 1 / Yeezy Season 3

New York Fashion week kicked off in style yesterday, with the highlight being Kanye West's new Yeezy collection at Madison Square Garden. 

Yeezy Season 3 was classic Kanye - with the signature ripped details, and a variety of bodycon and oversized pieces. There was no sign of tights as trousers disappearing, and the outerwear really stood out. It also proved to be more colourful than previous seasons, going beyond the usual nude, khaki and black colour palette. This was the first season that Kylie Jenner failed to model in, but that was more than made up for with veterans like Naomi Campbell appearing. In addition to Yeezy Season 3, West also teamed up with Balmain Creative Direction, Oliver Rousteing, to create custom Yeezy x Balmain outfits for the whole family. Yeezy x Balmain dressed the group in matching nude, blush pink and cream ensembles and took inspiration from Kanye's own line by incorporating subtle holes and rips in the fabric.

However, it wasn't just the clothes that got people talking. West went all out with his celebrity friends - Gigi and Bella Hadid, Karlie Kloss, Anna Wintour and Jay Z were just a few of the famous faces that came to lend their support. In addition, Kanye unveiled his new album - The Life of Pablo.

But of course, it wouldn't be Kanye West without a bit of controversy surrounding the lyrics in his new song, 'Famous', and the lengthy list of performance rules for the models.

Although the Yeezy collections tend to split opinions, you can't deny the hype surrounding it. Whether you love it or hate it, he's got you talking about it.

A Quick Guide To Fashion Month

Thursday 11th February officially marks the start of fashion month for the FW16 season. Over the next few weeks, the world's best designers will showcase their latest collections in New York, London, Milan, and finally, Paris. With Burberry announcing that they will no longer follow the fashion week formula, and will adopt a new buy-now wear-now formula from September, FW16 Fashion Month has the potential to be the best yet. Here's your quick guide to the collections to look out for from the fashion capitals:

New York Fashion Week, 11th-18th February 2016

SAT 13th - Rebecca Minkoff, Alexander Wang & Altuzarra

SUN 14th - Diane von Furstenberg & Prabal Gurung

MON 15th - Reem Acra & Rag & Bone

TUE 16th - Vera Wang, Alice + Olivia & Oscar De La Renta

WED 17th - DKNY

THU 18th - Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein & Marc Jacobs

London Fashion Week, 18th-23rd February 2016

FRI 19th - Felder Felder, Eudon Choi & Charlotte Olympia

SAT 20th - Julian Macdonald, J. W. Anderson & House Of Holland

SUN 21st - Anya Hindmarch, Mary Katrantzou, Topshop Unique, Mulberry, Temperley London & Alexander McQueen

MON 22nd - Sophia Webster & Erdem

Milan Fashion Week, 24th-29th February 2016

WED 24th - Gucci, Fausto Puglisi & Roberto Cavalli

THU 25th - Max Mara, Fendi, Prada & Moschino

FRI 26th - Versace

SAT 27th - Bottega Veneta, Blumarine

Paris Fashion Week, 1st-9th March 2016

THU 3rd - Chloe, Carven, Balmain, Lanvin

FRI 4th - Christian Dior, Isabel Marant

SAT 5th - Mulger, Acne Studios, Elie Saab

SUN 6th - Balenciaga, Celine, Givenchy

MON 7th - Giambattista Valli, Saint Laurent

TUE 8th - Chanel, Valentino

WED 9th - Louis Vuitton, Miu Miu

Which shows will you be looking out for?

February Street Style Inspiration

This month I really want to get back into wearing my leopard fur coat that I got last year - I definitely don't wear it enough! I'm hoping the really cold weather continues so I can pile up the layers with a super cosy blanket scarf on top. I've also just realised that I need to pick up a new pair of Converse soon because they look so great paired with camel coats!

For more street style inspiration check out my Pinterest board, my Tumblr blog or check back next month for the March instalment.