March Reads

Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell (5/5*s)

Kindred Sprits is a short story released for World Book Day, which follows Elena as she queues to see the new Stars Wars film. Rainbow Rowell is one of my favourite authors and although I haven't seen any of the Star Wars films I really loved this. It's only 60 pages long but I really enjoyed the story and getting to know the characters. I hope we get to read more about Elena and Gabe soon!

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne (4/5*s)

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas follows Bruno and his family as they move out of Germany and live close to a concentration camp, where Bruno then becomes friends with one of the prisoners. I tried reading this when the film came out but I only got half way through it. I'm so glad I gave it another chance as it really gives a unique view on the holocaust and WW2.

City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments #3) by Cassandra Clare (5/5*s)

City of Glass continues Clary story and the battle against Valentine, but this time in the setting of Idris. This is the best book in the series so far! City of Glass was full of action, unlike the previous book. I really enjoyed Simon's character in this book and I found myself liking him more and more. I also liked the change of location and finding out more about Idris and how the Clave works. A few of the plot twists were predictable, but there were also a few shocking ones that I really didn't expect!

Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2) by Marissa Meyer (4/5*s)

Scarlet follows Scarlet Benoit as she encounters mysterious street fighters and cyborg fugitives, and tries to find her Grandmother! I really enjoyed Scarlet and I loved seeing how her story fit in with the main plot line of Cinder and Queen Levana. I definitely preferred Scarlet and Wolf to Cinder and Kai! I also loved the introduction of Thorne - I can tell he'll be one of my favourite characters by the end of series.

Persuasion by Jane Austen (4/5*s)

Persuasion follows Anne Elliot as she finds herself thrown together with Captain Wentworth, 8 years after she broke of her engagement with him. This is one of the shorter Jane Austen novels, which I actually preferred as it felt more plot-driven. I also really loved Anne, and I couldn't help but feel sorry for her!

Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices #1) by Cassandra Clare (4/5*s)

The Infernal Devices is the first spinoff series from The Mortal Instruments, with Clockwork Angel following Tessa Gray as she encounters the world of the Shadowhunters in Victorian London. I really loved this book and I think I'll end up liking this series more than The Mortal Instruments. Although it's set in the same universe, The Infernal Devices has a completely different feel to it. I can't wait to find out more about Tessa, Will and Jem!

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (?/5*s)
The Secret Garden centres around a 10 year old girl called Mary, as she moves to England to live with her Uncle and discovers a forgotten garden on the grounds of the manor. I actually haven't finished this yet but I only have around 100 pages left and I'm hoping to finish tonight. I'm really enjoying it so far and I love reading about Dickon and all of his animals!

What did you read in March?

Making Time To Read

Finding the time to read for pleasure can be a challenge. For some people it's a full-time job and other commitments, for me it's university and coursework that takes up my time. Although I was a complete bookworm when I was younger, for years I only read for pleasure in the Summer because I simply didn't have the time. School or university and the work to go with it left me exhausted at night, and all I wanted to do was waste my time on the Internet and watch a lot of TV.

In the last year, I've seemed to find the perfect balance between work, reading and any other interests and commitments I have. Here are my top tips to make sure you find time to read:

Take Time Before You Sleep

I usually go to sleep around 10pm to make sure that I'm rested before my early mornings for university, and in the last year I've started going to bed an hour or an hour and a half earlier so I can read before I sleep. In this time I can get around 100 pages into a book. I also find it really relaxing and discovered that I actually sleep better if I read beforehand, rather than watching TV.

Utilise Your Breaks

My university timetables have never been great and often have 2-3 hour breaks between classes. If my friends are busy and I've managed to get all my work done, I like to either go to my local bookshop or sit in the university library and read.

The Journey To Work/University

I travel to university on the train every day, with the journey taking 30-45 minutes it's the perfect time to read a few chapters of whatever book I'm reading!

Weekends

I like to try and get a lot of my university work during the week, and leave more time at the weekend to read. There's nothing better than a Sunday afternoon spent reading and drinking tea!

How do you make time to read? Do you do any of the above?

March Street Style Inspiration

This month I'm really loving wearing my pink coat again - it's the perfect pastel shade for Spring! With the weather finally brightening up, I'm also able to wear my fedora again without the fear of it blowing away. Paired with my Nike trainers and a breton top, it's the perfect every day outfit!

I also really want to get a pair of blue mom jeans - quite different from my usual black joni jeans but I think they'll be really nice in the Summer.

What's inspiring you this month?

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

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.