Top Ten Tuesday | Things To Do On Halloween

This is my first time participating in Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly event hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. This weeks topic is Halloween Freebie – Happy Halloween! It allows us to be creative with the topic and I decided to choose the top 10 things to do on Halloween!

I am a huge fan of Halloween! While it isn’t really celebrated over here in the UK, it is in Ireland and when I was younger I would always go out trick or treating with my family when I visited.

Without further ado, here are my top 8 things to do on Halloween (I couldn’t think of any more that I would personally do!)

1. Watch my favourite Halloween movies that I loved as a kid

For me, personally, Halloween isn’t complete without watching these films in particular. I’m talking about the one and only (until they do the remake) Hocus Pocus! This is without a doubt my favourite and one that I watch every single year without fail. This year I managed to watch Casper, a film I hadn’t seen in god knows how long! Also, a film that combines my love for Halloween and Christmas, The Nightmare Before Christmas. Always perfect and starts getting me in the mood for more festivities.

3. Light a couple of candles

I have about three candles dotted around my room and I love the atmosphere it creates. Plus, if you can brave a scary movie, it makes it seem more tense watching it in the dark.

3. Get some treats in to snack on

It seems that all the sweets are on offer at this time of year, giving you the perfect excuse to buy a couple and eat throughout the day. I prefer ones that have a mixture in so there is a lot to choose from. Plus, it makes me feel like a kid again because at 21 it is unacceptable to go trick or treating.

4. Buy a pumpkin to put on display

Whether you want to carve a creepy face into one or just place a couple on display throughout the house, a pumpkin is a Halloween staple.

5. Watch a horror…if you dare

Horror is one of my favourite genres to watch and over the years I have become immune to being scared. The only movies that have recently made me feel terrified of walking past my stairs at night is the Conjuring franchise, including the Annabelle Films. These films will be making you wonder if ghosts and demons really do exist on Halloween.

6. Get a bottle of red in

Not only does red wine look like blood, Casillero del Diablo literally means Cellar of the Devil, making it perfect to drink on Halloween.

7. Don’t like wine? Try making some spooky Cocktails

If you prefer to make something a little tastier and a lot more fun then check out some of the many cocktail recipes online. Perfect for if you’re hosting a party as well! I love the recipes that can be found on Delish.

8. Read a scary book

Is there a better time of year to read a Stephen King novel? Pick up one of his many books, cover yourself with a blanket and settle in for the night and pray that you will be able to sleep later on.

I hope you enjoyed reading my top 10! How will you be spending Halloween this year?

Wrapping Up October

It’s so hard to believe that October has been and almost gone. Where did the time go? This month just flew by and I have officially been running my blog for a month. I have been enjoying connecting with other bloggers, writing down my thoughts about the books I’ve read and sharing my life with you all.

Not only that, but I also feel that it is helping me with my own writing and the books I have read have definitely influenced the book I am writing in terms of the POV. Originally I had been writing my novel in first person, but something didn’t feel right to me. I liked where my story was going and had it all laid out. That was when I had the idea to rewrite my first chapter in third person, just to see if it sounded better. And it did. So I am currently in the process of rewriting the 15,000 words I’ve written so far (but I’m easily adding at least another 750 to each chapter I rewrite).

Unfortunately, spending all this time on my own book has meant that I haven’t dedicated as much time to reading the books on my shelf. I managed to read a total of 4 this month and you can see them all below.

Into The Water by Paula Hawkins

It isn’t often that I read a thriller, but this one blew me away just as much as her first book. It was tense, fast paced and full of twists that I didn’t see coming. 4 out of 5 stars.

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

This was a partial re-read, as I had already read two thirds of it before, but I enjoyed it even more the second time. Red Queen is a great read, with betrayal, love and action. 4 out of 5 stars.

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

I can’t even begin to describe how excited I was to read this book and I was not let down after hearing so many great things. It was a perfect start for the series and hooked me with the dark and dangerous tale. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake

I am so lucky that I already had the sequel to Three Dark Crowns sitting on my shelf. The sequel was a step up from the first book, with a much darker story line, a ton of action and drama between the three sisters. I cannot wait for the next instalment to come out! 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Fingers crossed I will be able to read a lot more books than this next month and with the temperature rapidly dropping (it was 4 degrees this morning!) I will have more chances to stay in and read.

I hope you all have a lovely Halloween and I would love to know how you got on this month!

Review: One Dark Throne

Title: One Dark Throne

Author: Kendare Blake

Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Books

Year: 2017

Wow. I think starting this review with that one word is a great start because this book was incredible. As soon as I finished Three Dark Crowns I dived straight into the sequel and I loved it so much more than the first (if that was even possible). The UK cover is, once again, better than the US and beautiful, with the sisters abilities wrapping around the sword.

The second instalment picks up where the first left off and Kendare Blake doesn’t keep us waiting. The action begins practically straight away. Compared to the first book, the pace is a lot quicker and not once did I feel like I was plodding through the chapters. The plot was so much darker than the first too, something that I was hoping for more of in the sequel. I got just what I wanted, with the sisters plotting each others’ demise and evil schemes falling into place. Katharine definitely shone in that department (but we always knew she was harsher than the other two from the first book alone).

In terms of character development, it was greatly improved with this book and I felt a connection with some that I didn’t care for in the first book. My favourite sister from the first book, Arsinoe, is still the one I relate to and love the most, and she definitely got her chance to shine. Mirabella grew on me, slightly redeeming herself for some of her actions in the first book, and I couldn’t help but root for her too. I even felt sorry for Katharine (which isn’t easy when she’s one of the most evil in the book). And in a story where two out of the three sisters has to die? It makes it very complicated when I care about two of them. I still couldn’t make my mind up about who I wanted to be Queen. In a perfect world none of them would die and they could live happily ever after with the people they love. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that happy endings exist in Fennbirn.

The relationships between character were put to test throughout the book and the romantic ones in particular felt much more genuine this time round. My personal favourite has to be Arsinoe and Billy who had such a sweet friendship that was natural and made me smile when reading. I can’t not mention Jules, the kind of friend to Arsinoe that I would love to have for myself. She is strong, protective and her story definitely took a few turns along the way.

Having gotten used to the POV that Blake uses in the first book, I found it a lot easier to keep track of all the characters and the events taking place. It flowed so perfectly and there was no stopping with this book. The tension kept building, the story growing more complicated. There is violence, blood shed and so much emotion. Especially towards the end of the book. You can’t predict where this story will go and there were twists that I didn’t expect at all. I am beyond excited for the third one. I just hate that I have to wait until next year.

It is so hard to review this book without giving too much away and spoiling it, but it is definitely one of my favourite reads of the year so far. I am going to give this book 4.5 out of 5 stars.

My Reading Habits

I have seen a couple of book bloggers doing this tag before and thought it would be great to do it myself. Plus, you get to know a little bit more about me.

1. Do you have a certain place at home for reading?

Normally I tend to read last thing at night in bed. It’s the cosiest place for me personally (although instead of making me more tired some books can keep me up for hours).

2. Bookmark or random piece of paper?

When I was younger I had way too many bookmarks, thanks to my mum creating them for me and laminating them. But, up until recently I had just been dog-earring the pages (I can just hear you all telling me off for that). You’ll be glad to know I am using the trusty Book Depository bookmarks that came with my delivery, and I even coloured in one of them, too.

3. Can you just stop reading or do you have to stop after a chapter/ a certain amount of pages?

If I have to stop reading for whatever reason, I have to finish it after a chapter is over. Either that, or I can stop if there is a break in the chapter, but that is only if I am desperate to go do something.

4. Do you eat or drink while reading?

When I think about it, I don’t tend to do either in all honesty. I feel like it distracts me too much from the book, but every so often I will make a coffee and have that (praying I don’t forget about it and drink cold coffee).

5. Multitasking: Music or TV while reading?

I’m one of these people that prefers to read in silence. I love when I’m able to focus on just the book alone and conjure up the story in my mind. My sister is the opposite to me, she has to have something on in the background.

6. One book at a time or several at once?

I have only ever tried reading one book at a time. I think I would get too distracted if I tried to read one too many.

7. Reading at home or everywhere?

Normally I tend to just read at home, but if I am travelling on a train or plane somewhere then you can definitely count on me packing a book in my bag.

8. Reading out loud or silently in your head?

When I was younger I would read out loud if I was with my mum, but it is always in my head now.

9. Do you read ahead or even skip pages?

I had this thing when I was younger where I would always read the last page. I have no idea why I did that because, yes, sometimes it did ruin the book for me. As for skipping pages, sometimes I am tempted to, but I resist. I could miss some important information that is crucial to the story and that wouldn’t be good.

10. Breaking the spine or keeping it like new?

When it comes to breaking the spine I do this really weird thing where I have to split it into quarters or thirds, depending on how big the book is. I have always done that for as long as I can remember. Although, I do hate it when there are too many breaks in the spine, pet peeve.

11. Do you write in your books?

The only books I have ever written in have been the one that I used when I was at school for English Literature and Language. It definitely helped when it came to exams!

I really hope you enjoyed reading my answers. If you have ever done this tag then leave me the link in the comments, I would love to check it out!

The Book That Made Me A Reader

Growing up, my mum always pushed me and my sister towards reading to cure our boredom (and to challenge me to write my own stories, too). As a pre-teen I grew up with the Rainbow Magic book series, My Secret Unicorn stories and the incredible Roald Dahl. I was a fantasy girl, through and through; nothing excited me more than a magical story full of wonder and adventure. But that was when I was very young.

When I reached Secondary School I stopped reading for a little while until I saw a film that made me fall head over heels with the supernatural world (the only time I have seen the film before I read the book). I’m talking about the series that made all teenage girls fall in love with the sparkling vampire…Twilight.

I can’t even begin to describe how much I loved this series at the time. I feel that this book series is often the one that made people turn into avid readers. While I haven’t read the series in a very long time (and it’s probably best that I don’t), I can admit that it was the one that made me fall in love with reading. From that book I found so many amazing authors and their incredible stories, such as The Mortal Instruments, The House of Night series, The Vampire Diaries, The Hunger Games and many more.

Twilight made me join Goodreads, where I connected with like-minded people who enjoyed doing the same thing as me. I discovered stories that I otherwise wouldn’t have seen and, thanks to the Book Depository, I could order books that had only been released in the US. Stephanie Meyer helped to introduce me to the world of Young Adult books that I am still loving to this day.

This book in particular opened up a whole new world for me. It allowed me to explore different worlds, meet incredible characters and the books that I went on to read have influenced the way I write my own novels. I have taken the good aspects from them all and I let them mould me into the writer I am today. So when I get my first novel published I will be sure to thank them all for opening my eyes to magic that is reading.

What book made you become hooked on reading?

TV Shows I am Loving Right Now

October is my favourite month. Not just because I love the Autumn weather, but also because all my favourite TV shows start up again (and who doesn’t love a good binge?) So I thought I would share with you all the ones I have been loving the most recently.

The Originals

While I am still sad that The Vampire Diaries will never grace my TV screen again, I am glad that we still have one more season of The Originals to see (I’ll be sad when that one ends too, but at least I can prepare for it). I have recently been catching up on season 4 on Netflix before season 5 starts sometimes in 2018, but I will be finished before then.

I have loved this family and all the drama they bring with them since their introduction on The Vampire Diaries. Even when we were supposed to hate then, we still secretly liked them and their charm. It is hard to decide who is my favourite. My mum thinks Klaus is amazing, with his witty words and troubled past making us feel for him. I, however, prefer Elijah, with his dashing suits and charming demeanour. Then there is Rebekah, the sassiest of them all (and whose outfits I am jealous of).

There is something for everyone to love in this show. You are guaranteed gruelling deaths, romance, a lot of fighting and you may even shed some tears along the way. But most of all, once you start watching, you will be hooked.

Lucifer

I cannot even begin to describe how much I enjoy watching this show. Lucifer is definitely my guilty pleasure and never fails to keep me laughing along with the witty jokes and comments. The show revolves around the devil himself as he lives a lavish lifestyle in LA, away from the doom and gloom of hell. There he meets a detective, Chloe, and helps her to solve crimes and punish those that do wrong.

At first I didn’t know what to expect, but now we are on the third season and it only gets better. This show will reinvent how you think the devil looks and acts, and it also boasts a whole host of other characters that are just as amazing. The person who created this show has done an amazing job at taking an idea and making it so original. Don’t believe me, check it out for yourself!

Riverdale

Thank you Netflix for having this show so that I am able to watch it here in the UK. I was a little late starting this when it aired. Half of the show had already been uploaded at the time, which just made it easier for me to binge watch and I did just that. I was hooked straight away. I love a good mystery and Riverdale offered just that, along with a ton of teenage drama that I can’t get enough of.

It is based off of the Archie comics, which just so happens to also include Sabrina The Teenage Witch (who didn’t watch that when they were growing up?) I may have never read the comics, but I am a big fan of this show and all that it offers. Riverdale is dark, twisted and makes you question a lot of peoples’ motives. There is a lot more than meets the eye here and I can’t wait to find out where season 2 takes us.

What TV shows are you loving right now? I would love to know if there’s any I’m missing out on.

First Lines Fridays #1

I have seen a couple of blogs that I follow feature this and I thought it would be great to join in every Friday. First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines? It’s pretty simple really, the rules go like this…

• Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
• Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
• Finally… reveal the book!

So here are the lines from the book I have chosen…

“The leather-bound volume was nothing remarkable. To an ordinary-historian, it would have looked no different from hundreds of other manuscripts in Oxford’s Bodleian Library, ancient and worn. But I knew there was something odd about it from the moment I collected it.”

First Thoughts

Well, it isn’t the most incredible of starts but it has me wondering what the book is and why it will be different (because we know it will be special in some way). Is our main character a special historian? Do they know things the others don’t?

And The book Is…

When historian Diana Bishop opens an alchemical manuscript in the Bodleian Library, it’s an unwelcome intrusion of magic into her carefully ordered life. Though Diana is a witch of impeccable lineage, the violent death of her parents while she was still a child convinced her that human fear is more potent than any witchcraft.

Now Diana has unwittingly exposed herself to a world she’s kept at bay for years; one of powerful witches, creative, destructive daemons and long-lived vampires. Sensing the significance of Diana’s discovery, the creatures gather in Oxford, among them the enigmatic Matthew Clairmont, a vampire genticist.

Diana is inexplicably drawn to Matthew and, in a shadowy world of half-truths and old enmities, ties herself to him without fully understanding the ancient line they are crossing. As they begin to unlock the secrets of the manuscript and their feelings for each other deepen, so the fragile balance of peace unravels…

What would you think of this book from the first few lines?

A Day of Crazy Golf And Eating Ice Cream

Yesterday, for our most recent date, my boyfriend and I decided to visit the famous Daisy Made Farm (famous if you live in Lincolnshire at least). All of my friends would go on about how great it is and that the ice cream is to die for, but I had never gotten around to going. Finally, we made the decision last week that our Sunday morning would be spent checking it out and we weren’t disappointed.

The last time I played Crazy Golf was when I visited Orlando, Florida when I was 12 years old (which seems a life time ago now). It’s safe to say that we had a blast and didn’t stop laughing the whole time. Unfortunately, Matt beat me…twice! I’m normally a sore loser but I feel that I took it well and was relatively pleased with the amount of hole-in-ones that I got (I had 3 on our first round and 3 on the second as well). A couple holes were a little difficult as I kept chipping it so it would bounce off of things (I’m not even going to tell you how many shots I took on one hole as it’s too embarrassing).

As it is a farm there are a few animals that you are able to see. The obvious being the dairy cows that are kept in the fields surrounding the farm, but there were also two calves kept separate that were too cute! They kept mooing at us (as you can see from the picture above) and eyeing us up. You could also catch glimpses of rabbits and guinea pigs in their hutches and llamas too! As well as this, there were a few pygmy goats nearby and one in particular would not leave us alone, probably because he was hungry!

And speaking of hunger, we stopped to grab a bite to eat in the cafe on to stop our stomachs from rumbling. I’m a sucker for anything that has bacon and brie, so when I saw a bacon, brie and cranberry panini I snapped it up right away. It went so well with our delicious, fresh milkshakes in tiramisu and chocolate flavours (you can choose any of the ice cream flavours to use so the possibilities are endless).

The trip to Daisy Made would not have been complete without buying a litre of ice cream, which they packet themselves, and out of all the flavours we chose mint choc chip (because you can never go wrong with that). Although, if chocolate had been available I would have chosen that as I am a self-confessed chocoholic.

Have you ever been to a dairy farm and had fresh ice cream? I would love to know and I hope you enjoyed reading about my great day out!

September Book Haul

In the month of September I made it a goal of mine to start reading more and what better way to do that than to buy a whole load of new books? Towards the end of September I made my way to the Book Depository, an incredible site that sells millions of books, often at a cheaper price. As well as this you are able to find the US and UK versions of books (very helpful if you aren’t keen on a certain design, because let’s face it, the covers do matter sometimes). You can find the link to the site here.

The only problem with using this site is that they will sometimes send your order out in multiple packages. So, when I ordered 5 books recently, I got 5 packages delivered to my house throughout the week.

Now to talk about the actual books that I bought and I am very excited to get reading these throughout October. After reading Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard (for the second time, as I never finished it the first) I knew I had to buy the next two, Glass Sword and King’s Cage. I have managed to avoid spoilers for this series and cannot wait to find out what is in store for our main character, Mare. Victoria Aveyard really knows how to create a world that feels real, with characters that you grow to love, and even despise. I must say that the twist at the end of the first book was unexpected and is what urged me to buy the others.

Next up, I decided to buy A Discovery Of Witches by Deborah Harkness, the first book in the All Souls Trilogy. I am a little late reading this one, considering it was first published in 2011. When I found out that this book was being made into a TV show with Teresa Palmer and Matthew Goode, I knew I had to read it and find out more. A book that has witches, vampires and daemons is bound to be an exciting tale!

It’s seems that every book reviewer I have seen is raving about this series, so how could I not buy it? Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake is said to be a gripping and dark tale that will hook you until the end. I guess I am quite lucky that the second instalment in the series, One Dark Throne, was just released last month. If this book is as amazing as everyone says, I am sure I will be heading down to my nearest Waterstones to buy it.

And finally, the last book I decided to buy is A Darker Shade Of Magic by V. E. Schwab. One of my favourite booktubers, PeruseProject, mentioned this in quite a few of her videos and it caught my attention instantly. I love a good fantasy book and with two more in the series to read after, A Gathering Of Shadows and A Conjuring Of Light, there will be plenty to keep me busy.

Let me know in the comments if you have read any of these books, or if you have any suggestions that I would like.

Falling In Love With Autumn

Autumn has always been my favourite season and each year it seems I find more reasons to fall in love with it. Something about the crisp, fresh mornings and the shorter days makes all the other seasons pale in comparison. As the leaves change to vibrant oranges and reds, falling to the floor only to be crushed beneath feet, I find myself wishing it could always stay like this.

There are so many things to love about this time of year. Not only are all our favourite TV shows back on our screens (I personally cannot wait for Riverdale and The Originals), but there is no better time to wrap up in a blanket and sink into the world of a book.

A few years ago you would find me constantly reading, with about two hundred books on my shelves, but unfortunately life gets in the way. Until recently, the last time I had picked up a book was nearly a year and a half ago! The decision to begin reading more again was mostly due to the fact that I want to become an author, but that is a story for another blog post.

With Autumn, comes the great Pumpkin Spice Latte, and as common as it sounds, it is honestly my favourite drink. That, and a delicious hot chocolate with little marshmallows floating on top. Autumn and Winter are perfect for settling in for the night with a movie and a bag of popcorn. As we are in October it is time to bring out the oldies such as Hocus Pocus, Halloween Town and, if you prefer something a little scarier, Friday the 13th (which just so happens to be a week on Friday).

Sometimes, when you manage to find a day where it isn’t raining, there is nothing better than going for a long stroll in the park. Wrapping up in a cosy jumper and my favourite checked scarf, my sister and I would go around collecting conkers to place by the windows. If you didn’t know already, they are great at stopping spiders from coming inside and with the amount we’ve already had invading, we definitely need it.

Of course, there are many more things I love about this time of year but these are just a few. Let me know in the comments what some of yours are!