Month: Mar 2019

Challenge Accepted – Amanda Abram

by melissay1, posted in Uncategorised

First of all apologies for missing my weekly blog post last week! I’d just come back off holiday and then the Sunday I went out the entire day so between jetlag and just being busy, truthfully I just didn’t have time to write anything. Plus the genuine jetlag tiredness meant that I’m pretty sure that I wasn’t even awake enough last week to even type in sentences that made sense! I’m not feeling 100% this week so not entirely sure how this weeks post is going to turn out but here we go…

Going on holiday means that I read a lot of books. I love flights where I’m physically unable to waste time by playing a silly game on my phone or going into that never ending cycle of watching related YouTube videos and I’m able to channel into doing productive things like reading or writing plus the whole jetlagged waking up at 3 in a morning business means that you’re able to finish reading a book before its an acceptable time to get out of bed. As ever, I downloaded a lot of books onto my kindle for the holiday and my favourite from the week was a book by Amanda Abram called Challenge Accepted.

Challenge Accepted tells the story of Emma and Logan who have been neighbours since they were both born combine that with the fact their families are best friends, it was safe to say the should’ve been friends. Except they couldn’t be any further away from being friends. As Emma’s best friends spend the summer together in Florida, Emma is desperate to have an incredible summer at home with potentially a summer romance so takes part in the schools compatibility test to find her perfect match. Little does she know, thanks to Logan lying on his test so that he wouldn’t match with his on-off girlfriend, that she’d be paired with the person she hated the most. Thanks to this, Logan is guilt tripped by his family into helping Emma have the perfect summer and sets about trying to make her a potential love interest for his friend Matt who she’s had a crush on for years. However, somehow in the process Emma and Logan find out that spending time together isn’t as bad as they both imagined.

I loved this book and it really is everything that you want from a young adult novel. Yes, its super predictable but to be honest I didn’t care. The romantic build up is quite a slow burner but I loved that about it. The storyline does a great job of really showing Emma’s transformation into someone Matt would romantically like, even if in reality she doesn’t change from who she is much at all. I’m not usually a fan of books that are told from dual perspectives but I felt that it really worked well in this book as it was interesting to read both the main characters thoughts of what was happening.

Logan and Emma are both such good characters to read about, I liked them both which added to my enjoyment of the book. Although at the beginning Logan is presented as being a bit of a jerk he isn’t like that at all really and you soon find yourself on his side. I think a lot of the readers will probably identify with Emma too…I know I for one would much rather stay in organising my books than go to a party so I know I really felt her reluctance in going when reading.

I’m definitely out of the young adult target reading group nowadays but I still love reading a romantic young adult novel – it’s so good to go back to a familiar genre that I love and it’s refreshing to have less adult themed content. What I dislike about many young adult novels from an older readers point of view is that I find the characters very immature and react in such a childish way. However, I didn’t really find this as such with this book which for me added to my enjoyment of reading this book. Present me loved reading this book and I know younger me would’ve loved it even more and that is exactly how you know this book is fantastic.

If you’re looking for a super cute, quick young adult book make sure this is the one you pick up to read next!

Synopsis –

Emma Dawson and Logan Reynolds have been neighbours and enemies for as long as either one can remember. Despite the fact their BFF fathers have been encouraging them their whole lives to be friends, they’ve managed to avoid each other at all costs. Emma thinks Logan is a callous jerk who cares about nobody but himself. Logan thinks Emma is a stuck-up goody-two shoes with no life. The two couldn’t be any more different…which is why Emma is so confused when the Emerson High Computer Club’s “Summer Fling Compatibility Test” concludes they’re a perfect match.

But Logan’s not confused. He lies on the test to make his “sometimes girlfriend” think they’re not meant to be and now Emma is furious that he made her lose out on the chance of having a swoony summer romance with the perfect guy. Forced by his stepmother to make it up to her, Logan decides to help her win the heart of her lifelong crush: his best friend, Matt.

He knows how much of a challenge this will be. Matt is good-looking, popular and outgoing, Emma is quiet, bookwormish, and scared of everything. However, Logan is convinced that with some major tweaking, he can transform Emma into someone Matt could fall for. But as the summer heats up, so does their budding friendship…and soon, they may be faced wit the biggest challenge of all: falling for each other.

Srprs.me Holiday

by melissay1, posted in Uncategorised

As I am writing this post I am currently on the way to the airport to go on a week long holiday somewhere in the world and by the time I post this I should hopefully have arrived in my holiday destination. I know my travel dates, I know when I need to be at the airport, my suitcase is packed, I have a rough idea of the weather (hint – it’s freezing!) but other than that I have zero ideas of anything to do with this holiday. That’s right I literally have no idea about where I am going on holiday!

I booked this holiday with a company called srprs.me. Srprs.me are a company who do exactly what it says on the tin! Instead of spending hours obsessively planning your holiday, you simply chose whether you want a holiday in or out of Europe and the standard of accommodation then viola! Your holiday is booked and you have no idea where you’re going until you arrive at the airport excitedly ready to board the plane. They well and truly surprise you!

Around 18 months ago I booked my very first srprs.me holiday. I’d already been to New York that year so I just wanted a little European city break at the back end of the year. Europe doesn’t really hold much appeal to me, I’ve never had any must do travel places there so trying to decide where in Europe I wanted to go was a nightmare. I researched a million places but nothing really grabbed my attention, everywhere looked good but nothing really was a must book. Plus I obsessively research hotels and the locations of them and I just couldn’t find anything that was in my budget. Obviously Facebook twigged on to my holiday googling and one day srprs.me came up as an advert. I did some research and found lots of peoples positive reviews so I booked to go.

Once you book your trip you have a countdown page and when that page hits zero you find out your destination. You’re sent a scratch card in the post which once scratched reveals a 4 digit pin, then once you arrive at the airport at the time srprs.me advises (which is plenty of time to clear security, have breakfast and browse the duty free!) your countdown page hits zero and you’re able to input your pin code which then reveals your destination! You’re told your airport terminal and you get genuine excitement as you walk past the departure board wondering which of these places are your flight! Obviously if you need any printed out boarding cards etc, srprs.me send you them in a sealed do not open until you know you destination envelope – they really do think of everything that you need.

I was the queen of extensively researching hotels, writing multiple notebooks full of things you want to see and do, even ‘walking’ around in the place on Google street view but it’s so refreshing to physically not being able to do this. The hotel was a 4 star hotel, moments away from one of the main underground stations which went to nearly everywhere in the city without the need to change lines and a 5 minute walk from the main attractions. Honestly, I couldn’t have booked a better hotel if I’d tried to myself. The city itself was one that I never would’ve even thought about but I’m sure srprs.me know me better than I know myself as it was certainly the perfect trip for me and I’d never even considered going! Basically, if I can push myself out of my obsessive planning comfort zone and have the best time, anyone can!

Thanks to that successful trip, myself and my friend Lorna, have booked a srprs.me trip to anywhere in the world! We booked this trip almost a year ago and have since daydreamed about nearly every place in the world. Could we be going to Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Brazil?! The amazing fact is we actually could be going to any of these places! It’s the craziest feeling travelling to the airport and knowing you’re booked to go on a plane in just a few hours to some incredible destination yet you have no idea where. At the time of writing this we haven’t yet revealed our destination but based on my Europe trip I can vouch that the feeling on the reveal is unreal and like nothing else and the spontaneous holiday you have when you arrive is just as good (perhaps even better!) than a trip that has been extensively planned.

I’ll write a post up in the near future about my experience of doing a worldwide trip with srprs.me but based on my Europe trip experience I’m sure that I am in for a fantastic holiday!

See you next week!

 

The Consequence of Falling – Claire Contreras

by melissay1, posted in Book Review, Uncategorised

The Consequence of Falling by Claire Contreras tells the story of Presley. She is the heiress of a brewery and her entire life she’s done everything that has been expected of her. Gone to college, married a rich man…but by doing that she’s put her own life own hold. One divorce later, Presley finds herself back working for her father, but this time round her dad has a new business partner in the form of Nathaniel Bradley. Nathaniel is only a couple of years older than Presley and she has known him since high school – and has despised him since the very first meeting when he drove her home from school. Of course, now Nathaniel is basically Presley’s boss things are bound to get interesting.

This book is great and even at the moments you think it’s getting a little long winded just stick with it. The slow build up to this book, is exactly what makes it so good because when everything you’ve been waiting to happen happens it makes everything a hundred times better. A lot of books that are a slow burner are slightly disappointing when things start happening but it isn’t the case in this book. You start to feel like you know the characters inside out which only makes for an even more enjoyable read.

Yes, on the outside Presley does appear to be a spoiled brat and to be fair on a number of occasions she acts like one. However, you have to remember she is going through a high profile divorce and she is well aware of the fact that her dad isn’t in the best of health, plus toss in the fact her lifelong nemesis Nathaniel has been made a partner of the business she is going to run one day and he takes great pleasure in winding Presley up. She really does have a lot on her plate so at times during some of her diva-ish reactions you have to remember this. Nathaniel see’s Presley’s dad as more of a father figure and he has known him since he was a teenager. He works extremely hard so its no wonder that he’s frustrated by Presley’s lack of effort towards the business at times. However, despite them both having annoying tendencies at times, they are both likeable characters and I think that the fact they both have some bad qualities makes them more human and relatable.

I really enjoyed the story and the last 25% of the book is absolutely everything you want from a book story. It sent you through every type of emotion imaginable with your heart literally going out to characters are certain moments. As mentioned earlier, the slow build up makes you enjoy this even more and as you’re so attached to these characters by the end of the book you’re really routing for them and going through all the emotions with them.

I genuinely can’t believe I’ve never read any of the authors previous books before as I enjoyed reading this one so much. If you’re looking for a romance novel that has a strong emotional storyline then this book should definitely be your next book to read. I know I’m now off to see what other books that I can download onto my kindle by the author.

Synopsis –

The list of things I hate is short. Not even my soon-to-be ex-husband is on that list. Nope. I save only the worst of the worst, the crème de la crème, the absolute I cannot even for this list . . .

1. Black coffee
2. Rude people
3. Nathaniel Bradley

Which is why when my father informs me that he’s making Nathaniel Bradley his new business partner, and in turn, my boss, I flip out.

1. He’s an annoying know-it-all.
2. He calls me a spoiled princess every chance he gets.
3. He disapproves of everything I do.

I go into this knowing I’ll hate every second in his presence. Except the longer he’s around, the more I find myself staring at his lips and remembering the one time they were on mine. I randomly find myself looking at his hands and wondering how they’d feel on my skin. I try to snap out of it, but I guess I’m not as smart as I thought I was. No matter how many times I remind myself of the times I’ve practically thrown myself at him and he’s pushed me away, I keep falling little by little.

I’d always heard that it was a bad idea to mix business with pleasure and if that’s the case, this thing with Nathaniel has demise written all over it.

Be More Chill – Ned Vizzini

by melissay1, posted in Book Review, Uncategorised

I’m going to be perfectly honest, I had never heard of this book before the Broadway musical. I always keep my eye on what new shows are on Broadway to plan what I’d like to see on my next trip across the pond. Be More Chill caught my attention as many of my favourite Broadway performers have been posting about seeing this show lately and it stars Will Roland who was in Dear Evan Hansen so naturally when I discovered it was based on a book it was straight downloaded onto my Kindle.

Be More Chill tells the story of Jeremy who is the stereotypical high school dork. He is humiliated by most of the school daily, he spends his day staring at his crush Christine who doesn’t give him a second glance and only has one friend, Michael. Then one day his classmate tells him about the squip. The squip is a supercomputer that is taken as a pill and once swallowed it gives you everything that you desire in life. Now in Jeremy’s brain he has another voice telling him everything to say, do…even down to what to wear! Overnight Jeremy has turned from the schools biggest loser to someone who gets invited to the popular parties and who people actually want to be seen with!

I love the idea of Be More Chill. In my mind something like the squip could actually exist one day and this to me is what makes this book so good. Its interesting to see how the squip successfully works but at the same time how it can cause more trouble than it’s worth. I mean, on the one hand it transformed Jeremy. He’s now no longer the joke of the school but on the other hand its interesting to see that although computers might know the facts about everything, the things they suggest might not actually work in practice.

On the whole I liked the book but it was mainly due to the fact I found the concept of the squip fascinating. The characters on the other hand, I’m just not sure about. The guys are presented as sex mad (even Jeremy who spends too much of his free time watching porn on his computer) and the girls seem more than happy to satisfy this, seemingly willingly having sex with any guy who shows interest. Although this book is young adult, I really don’t think its characters are great for a teenage audience as they all seem to think by sex rather than brains, plus the whole fact that the only way Jeremy can fit in is by spending a lot of money on the squip which changes everything about him isn’t such a good message either. Plus its worth throwing in a warning that in his new popular state Jeremy also takes drugs. However, the ending of this book was fantastic and I certainly didn’t see it coming.

Truthfully? I did enjoy this book but I wouldn’t really recommend it to a younger, target audience to read due to the characters. However, the squip is quite thought provoking and I did spend a lot of time thinking about a world where such thing existed. In terms of the Broadway musical, I can completely see this story working on a stage! Plus I have had a little listen to the songs and they’re every bit as quirkily brilliant as you’d expect from this story. Given the opportunity I probably would go and see the show if I could as it is such an interesting concept that I think could be saved by the songs – and hopefully make the characters a little more interesting rather than being sex obsessed teens.

Synopsis – 

Jeremy Heere is your average high school dork. Day after day, he stares at beautiful Christine, the girl he can never have, and dryly notes the small humiliations that come his way. Until the day he learns about the “squip”. A pill-sized supercomputer that you swallow, the squip is guaranteed to bring you whatever you most desire in life. By instructing him on everything from what to wear, to how to talk and walk, the squip transforms Jeremy from Supergeek to superchic. Now an off-Broadway musical!