Month: May 2019

Kiss and Break Up (Magnolia Cove, #1) – Ella Fields

by melissay1, posted in Book Review, Uncategorised

Peggy and Dash couldn’t be more opposite but as they are neighbours and have parents who were best friends life sort of pushed them together. But lets make it perfectly clear, Dash is by far the last person Peggy would ever go for. Peggy is a good, overall well behaved person whereas Dash is demanding, insensitive and just generally a horrible person…except to Peggy. He pushes her but it is never too far. That is until Peggy starts dating and he offers up his services to help her get ready for her dates. Suddenly, feelings between the two become apparent and Peggy kissing Dash should definitely not be happening when she is dating someone else…

This book had so much potential for me from the blurb. I was so excited to start to read it but within a few chapters it was a real effort for me to pick up this book and read it and I really wish this wasn’t the case. I did keep on reading though and got to the end of the book but personally it didn’t really get any better for me. I just didn’t warm to the characters and sadly the story just irritated me so even the ending which usually makes me happy didn’t even effect me.

For me, Peggy seems to be slightly a pushover when it comes to Dash. She seems to go with whatever he says and that’s obviously because she has feelings for him too. However, the fact she lets him do whatever really irritated me. Though the fact she even entertained his help in the first place when she was seeing someone else bugged me enough and this happened within the first few chapters! So for me, I just couldn’t agree with what the characters were doing throughout the story and I think ultimately this completely ruined the enjoyment of this book for me. I just found myself on numerous occasions wanting to jump into the story and tell both of them to stop being a pair of twonks.

The story just wasn’t for me either. I thought it was going to be so much more than it actually was and the blurb gave me such high hopes. Yet the story just seemed to revolve around Penny and Dash having abit of a fling and hurting themselves and people around them in the process. I think I was expecting more of a developed story but instead I got two characters doing something completely ridiculous, then discovering it was a bad idea (which everyone reading knew from the beginning) before it completely blowing up and ending badly. I really just thing the fact they kissed bothered me too much to look past it especially when the whole story somewhat revolved around it.

As you can tell this book sadly just wasn’t for me. I really did want to love it but for me, I couldn’t find anything I could relate to or find likeable about either Peggy or Dash which made the story an effort to read but then the story itself just ended up not being for me. I’m glad I finished this story but unfortunately I wouldn’t recommend it to others to read.

Synopsis –

From bestselling author Ella Fields comes an all-new, turbulent, new adult romance.

Dashiell Thane wasn’t a nice guy.
He was an abrasive, demanding, conniving, intolerable brat.
Yet somehow, we’d been best friends our whole lives.
Until our senior year when I finally decided to dip my toes into the dating pool.

All it took was one kiss for jealousy, lies, and betrayal to sweep in and propel us heart first into dizzying, hostile depths.

You’re not supposed to kiss your best friend.
You’re definitely not supposed to kiss your best friend while you’re dating someone else.
And the absolute worst thing you could do is fall for your best friend.
Unless, of course, you want to ruin everything.

Planning A Trip To New York

by melissay1, posted in travel

Planning a trip to somewhere that you’ve visited countless times before is always difficult. Do you keep repeating the things you’ve done before? Do you extensively Google search to find the weird and wonderful little gems that you might have missed on previous trips because you had other things that you wanted to do?

Then when you travel with other people you have to take into consideration what they think. I would (and have…) spend the entire week in a theatre seeing the Broadway shows I’ve obsessed about or I’d be happy queueing hours outside a building just to see on the sofa from Friends. But when you travel with others you realise you can’t just let the week revolve around your plans and when other people have a go with the flow attitude rather than my uptight planning and booking things for everyday, it can get frustrating.

I need a place to write about my trip to make me feel better about my current lack of planning frustrations so I thought I would write up a post detailing just a couple of the things that I like to do in New York in the hope it might help others plan a trip. I’m not going to go into too much detail as I’m sure as my own trip gets nearer I’ll be writing more posts about this.

I’ve never wrote anything like this before so please give me some slack if this is completely rubbish…practice makes perfect after all!

Do Something Unique To The Days You’re Visiting

I think that its important to look what is happening in a place when you are visiting, something unique that might only be happening on the days your there. I never used to do this until I visited New York on multiple occasions now I do it everywhere I visit as I think if something only happens once a year it’s a nice bonus to catch it. Sadly this year I (yet again! This is actually my 3rd time I’ve missed it by a matter of days!!) have just missed the Broadway Flea Market but I do manage to catch New York Comic Con and Ben Platt is in town which is exciting in itself, even if that day I won’t be able to attend as I’ll be seeing his fellow Dear Evan Hansen cast member Will Roland in the show Be More Chill. The last time I visited I managed to catch the St Patricks Day parade and because I knew it was happening I could plan to get up early in order to get the best spot to view the parade.

Go Up The Tallest Building

New York is spoiled for choice when it comes to this as so many buildings offer a ticket to the top to admire the view! When I go to a new city I always try and find the tallest building (or in some cases hill) and go to the top. No matter how many you go up, nothing is quite like looking out and seeing the city below and if you’ve been before seeing other peoples reactions make it worthwhile. I think it also gives you a great sense of perspective about the size of a place too. Its also worth deciding in advance which one of the buildings you want to go up too and get your ticket booked! Many offer a ticket which gives you priority access and believe me, during the busy times it is worth every penny! I bought a walk up ticket to go up the Empire State Building at night and I had the choice between a 2 hour queue for the lift or have to tackle the stairs – so definitely prebook to avoid this!

Broadway

If you like seeing theatre shows then you have to go to see something on Broadway. I adore it and it wouldn’t be a trip to New York for me without seeing at least one show. Whenever I go its always a real effort to decide which show to see as I usually have a list of must see shows but you can guarantee that if its made it to Broadway you’re in for a good night whatever you see. Currently I’ve just booked to see Be More Chill and I cannot wait to see the show! I’m hoping for a day seat / lottery to Beetlejuice though. Sadly its worth mentioning that Broadway can work out very expensive but cheaper options like the online lotteries or a ticket booth on the day you want to see the show exist if you want to get a last minute ticket.

Attractions

I suppose this goes without saying for wherever you go but look into the attractions in New York before you go. The city has so many and if you prebook its less of an expense whilst you’re there plus it guarantees access if you really want to go and see certain things. Personally, my two favourite tours that I’ve done in New York are the Yankee Stadium Tour and Madison Square Gardens. I enjoy doing stadium tours but I’ve found they’re of varying standards but both of these tours were superb and well worth a visit if you like that kind of thing. Also, if you’re into more of an informative tour then the 9/11 museum needs to be on the top of your list. Personally, I found the entire thing a little overwhelming and truly heart breaking at many points but I did still spend hours in the museum. It was very interesting and if you think you could deal with the emotional side of the museum it is worth visiting.

Planning

As an obsessively planner I’m pretty sure I’m one of few people who do this. I’ve visited most of the real tourist attractions in New York now so before I go I now write a list of the little things that I would like to see and do. New York is a big city and the skyscrapers can make you abit bewildered so I think its nice to have a list of things you’d like to see then if you accidentally amble nearby you can make a detour and see the thing you want to. For example, despite multiple trips I have never been to the Statue Of Liberty. Obviously I’ve seen it and gone past it on the ferry but I’ve never been up to the crown. Other things on my list include Roosevelt Island Tram, a proper look around Brooklyn as currently I’ve only been to Park Slope and quickly around it on a bus trip and a day trip to Philadelphia.

I hope you enjoyed this post and if anyone has any recommendations for me to do when I go to New York that would be great!

Love At First Fight (Geeks Gone Wild #1) – Maggie Dallen

by melissay1, posted in Book Review

Love At First Fight tells the story of Margo. Margo doesn’t care about being popular, she is more than happy being a geek and hanging out with her two best friends. Then one day whilst hanging out (in her skimpy bikini so she can tan better) at her friends house, she suddenly finds herself surrounded by her school peers throwing a party as her friends twin brother has planned a party. Suddenly she finds photos of her being scantily dressed broadcast around school with the caption, Geeks Gone Wild. The last person she expects her help situation is her neighbour and schools Mr Popular, Jason.

This book is completely and utterly my kind of book! I sat down and within a matter of hours I’d finished the book. I just absolutely loved it from the first chapter and it’s been my favourite book I’ve read in a long time. I loved the storyline, I loved the characters, it was just all round fantastic!

The story itself I liked. I found although the plot was exaggerated it was still very much believable and I think that’s why it works so well. The photo of Margo going viral around the school is exactly the kind of thing I can imagine happening in a school nowadays and it’s a great idea for a book storyline.

Both the main characters, Margo and Jason were throughly likeable. They are polar opposites but that works so well in the story, particularly watching how Margo suddenly finds herself intertwined in the world of popularity when she starts hanging out with Jason’s and his friends.

This book was just fantastic. It was a super cute, very quick read but I loved it! Sometimes you need to read a book like this and if that’s what you’re looking for this is the book for you!

Synopsis –

Band Geek vs Quarterback…

One humiliating photo, a stupid prank, and a hashtag that goes viral. That’s how my senior year goes from predictable to absurd in a heartbeat. This year is supposed to be easy. I’ve finally scored first chair in band, my college applications are done, and all my friends and I have to do is survive one more year of high school before our real lives can begin. Instead, I find myself in trouble with the principal, humiliated in front of the entire school, and fighting with my neighbor – AKA star quarterback, Prince Charming, and nicest guy on the planet. 

And that’s just on the first day back at school. Trust me, it only gets worse from there. As #GeeksGoneWild trends on social media, my friends and I are the targets of an online witch hunt. But they’ve picked on the wrong people and retaliation is severe. As the tension escalates, it soon becomes clear that someone needs to step up and put an end to this nonsense. If that means playing nice with the quarterback, I guess that’s what I have to do. Now if someone could please tell my heart that this new friendship is just for show. And the kisses…oh, the kisses. Someone please remind me that they don’t mean a thing.

Theatre Stage Doors

by melissay1, posted in Theatre

I’ve been wanting to write my thoughts of going to stage door at a theatre for a while. Now I’ve started blogging on a Wednesday, I’ve finally got the perfect excuse I need to write this post.

I think stage door after a theatre performance is a lot like marmite, you either love it or hate it / don’t care about going. I for one, love it. I really enjoy seeing a show, loving the performance then heading to stage door to get my program signed by people whose performance I’ve just watched and enjoyed. My wall is full of framed signed programmes / posters from my favourite shows that I got signed at stage door after the show, for me it’s just the ultimate souvenir you can get from a show, and it’s nice to say hi to the cast and say how much you enjoyed the show. However, stage door has been increasingly making the news / social media sites over the past year and as someone who loves stage dooring that is why I wanted to talk about it.

Hands up – I have probably committed every single stage door sin in the past. Yes, I’ve waited at the stage door at a day that I haven’t seen the show (in my defence I had seen the show the day before and it was to try meet Daniel Radcliffe. People queued to get the prime spot to meet him hours before the play that day had even started!) and I’ve got photos with cast members when it was broadcast online that photos weren’t not allowed – but again I wasn’t aware of this until a few weeks after I saw this particular production, and I did ask the cast if it was ok, I didn’t just shove a camera in their face. I really feel that from both an actor and fans point of view that it would be easier if every single stage door followed the same rules and procedures so actors and fans alike know where they stood. For example, if the show that said no photos had signs up saying that or security shouting no photos (like on Broadway) then both actors and fans would know where they stood, whereas in that situation the actors must’ve known about no photos but fans didn’t.

Genuinely with the West End, unless someone relatively well known is in the show, I’ve found stage doors are a very casual affair. No barriers, no security, just a handful of people waiting to get autographs / photos after the show. But then when you go and see a show with a bigger name star in it, the stage door just turns into chaos. If perhaps every show did the same stage door people would know what to do. For example, at Daniel Radcliffe’s most recent play, if you saw the play and had a valid ticket for that days performance you were able to queue up outside after the show and were led inside in small groups to meet Daniel Radcliffe. Really, Daniel Radcliffe did not have to commit to do this at all (I was near the back of the queue and it took a good two hours to get to me meeting him and to this day I’m still shocked they didn’t just do the first handful of people in the queue) but if a performer is happy with it, it was such a great way to do a stage door and the theatre staff organised the queue very effectively. It eliminated people who hadn’t actually seen the show camping out at the stage door barrier and it was just the most calm, relaxed experience. In my opinion it was the best stage door experience I’ve had and I think all big name stars should considering doing stage door like this if they’re ok with committing all that time after the show.

Then at the recent production of Heathers, security had fans line up down the street at the front of the theatre instead of by stage door and the cast made there way up and down the line. I thought that worked well too as if cast members weren’t feeling up for stage door that day they would walk out the theatres stage door and go home, whereas if they felt up for stage door they made the decision to commit to it and walk front of house to sign programmes. It was giving the actors the choice and it kept fans happy and they knew that the actors who came to the front of the building would make the way up the entirety of the line.

Everything so far has been in relation to the West End now let’s move onto the horror that is Broadway stage doors. To be perfectly honest I don’t know too many Broadway actors (and the locations of stage doors in New York seem to be so confusing to find!) so I have only stage doored Broadway just the once so I have very limited experience but from that experience alone I would have to really want to meet the cast to attempt it again. Obviously as I’ve only done it once I’m not sure if it was just a particularly bad experience or if that is Broadway shows in general but I have seen photos of other stage doors and they all look just as hectic!

The stage door experience I had was at School Of Rock, I love Sierra Boggess and really wanted to try and get my copy of her album signed, plus I wanted to try and see Alex Brightman who became an instant favourite performer after I watched the show – no joke it’s been 3 years and I still tell people how much of an incredible performer he is! I ran out of the theatre after the show, my exit was the one bang next to stage door, I must’ve been at stage door all of 20 seconds after the show ended and yet I was still about 4 rows of people back – is it standard for people to wait at Broadway stage doors before the show has even finished or are people just insanely quick? The door was completely surrounded by barriers and if you weren’t at the front you had very little chance of getting anything signed particularly as I’ve never been in such a pushy situation when the actors started to filter out. People were literally whacking playbills, posters, vinyls around my head in the hope to get an actor to sign them – I wasn’t even anywhere near the front! Security were shouting as the pushing began and people were just uncontrollably screaming the actors names, it was just crazy and quite a different stage door experience to what I’m used to! As it happened, the cast had guests in that night and both Sierra Boggess and Alex Brightman came out quite late after the show had finished and only a half a dozen or so people remained meaning the barriers had gone down and the security had left for the night. Despite the hectic pushy environment earlier, when these two cast members came out it was extremely chilled. Alex Brightman in particular was truly one of the nicest people I’ve met at a stage door, he spent so much time individually talking and taking photos with every single person who was waiting.

I’ve booked to see Be More Chill on Broadway (even just writing that makes me want to scream with excitement that I’m actually seeing the show!) later in the year. I have been a fan of Will Roland, who stars in the show, for years now, I’ve watched an embarrassing amount of interviews he’s done and listened way too much to the cast albums he appears on – plus I’m sure most people have seen him singing the song about cookies and maybe yet not made the connection about who it is. Although my seats are pretty terrible, I never thought I’d get the opportunity to see him on stage so it’s safe to say that I just absolutely cannot wait to finally get to the chance to see him perform in a show. However, I’ve heard very mixed reviews about him at stage door as he apparently goes down the line very quickly signing after the show whereas I’ve heard other members of the cast spend a long time signing everything and taking photos. Honestly for me, I don’t know why people complain at that. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I’d love to get a photo or get a few moments to say what an incredible performer I think he is but frankly he’s the lead in Be More Chill and I can imagine that’s completely and utterly exhausting. The fact he even comes out of stage door at all is great and people should be ok with that rather than complaining how he rushes through it. I know after I had a tiring day at work and you just want to get home that I’d be leaving by a back exit to avoid having to do that! I know it’s an argument that’s goes around a lot at the moment but it is so true, you’re only paying to see a show and anything else is a bonus. It’s just sad when you hear multiple bad reports about performers not doing stage door when in reality if you put yourself in that situation you probably wouldn’t do it either.

As a fan of meeting theatre performers I love stage door. It gives me the opportunity to say how much I enjoyed watching them on stage and also getting something signed is such a great souvenir. Some of my favourite things are my (now framed and on the wall) signed posters from shows. Ultimately I think as long as the actors are willing and happy to participate in stage door and fans are respectful of the actors choices to do or not do it and of other fans around them then it shouldn’t be a problem. I think the problem starts when people start complaining about performers being too quick at stage door or even choosing not to do it at all, at the end of the day if people are respectful and considerate then I personally see no problem with stage door signings continuing. I know that I’ll still be trying to get my programme signed at the next show I attend.

I know this has been the biggest load of waffle but I’d love to know other people’s opinions, do you like / dislike stage door? Have you ever had a really good experience meeting someone there? I definitely look at tagged photos of shows on Instagram way too often to read people’s experiences at shows so I’d love to hear any stories!

Pink Bits (Awkward Book 1) -J.B. Heller

by melissay1, posted in Book Review

Pink Bits tells the story of neighbours Reagan and Rhett. Although they’re neighbours the pair have never actually properly met…that is until Rhett is rudely woken up by Reagan doing some home improvements at some insanely early time in the morning. He decides to tackle the noise and storms around to her flat naked and storms up to sleep on her sofa. Reagan doesn’t do well in situations and her go to solution is to blurt out obscure facts. The situation accidentally forces them to spend time together and as Rhett doesn’t run a mile at Reagans facts, attraction between them soon is at a sky high.

This book is completely and utterly outrageous. From Reagan spouting out facts to Rhett somehow thinking its acceptable to barge round to a neighbours house he’s barely said a word to – its crazy from even the first chapter! I found myself laughing out loud within a few pages and the book continues with the same amount of craziness as it begins. The book has no real drama, but really it doesn’t need it. The book provides just the right amount to keep the story moving. Truthfully though this book didn’t even need the drama as the humour of the story is the real driving force of this story.

Reagan and Rhett are fantastic characters and so easy to read about. I loved the way in which the author writes about the characters and the funny interactions between them both managed to keep my attention. I started reading the book and then somehow not long later I’d found the book was over already!

I thoroughly enjoyed every second I spent reading Pink Bits. My only gripe is that it was over so fast! I love that this book is part of a series and although I wish the books were a continuation of Reagan and Rhett’s story, I am excited to read about other characters stories. I definitely will be downloading other books by this author as I adore the funny style of telling a story. If you’re looking for a funny, romantic novel you will love this book – it genuinely has been one of my favourite books of the year so far.

Synopsis –

Did you know the medical term for a butt crack is intergluteal cleft?

My name is Reagan, and spouting random facts like this one at inopportune moments is my affliction. I’m chronically awkward, socially inept and completely lack a filter. Believe it or not, men do not find these attractive traits.

When my sexy-as-sin neighbour barges into my apartment at the arse crack of dawn, everything changes. For some strange reason, my brand of crazy doesn’t send him running for the hills. Instead, he settles in for a nap on my couch…

Oh, and did I mention he was completely naked?

Easter Panto On Tour – Beauty And The Beast

by melissay1, posted in Theatre

I appreciate that Easter was quite a few weeks ago now but last Wednesday I just really didn’t feel like blogging and I enjoyed this show so much that it seems a real shame to not write about this production. Plus the same company does a Christmas panto too and they’re already booking for next years Easter panto so I really have no excuse to not write this post.

To be truthfully honest, when I booked this show I was expecting very little from it, especially when I hadn’t ever heard of Beauty And The Beast being a panto before and it just seemed insane doing a pantomime at Easter! I admit that its been a ridiculously long time since I saw a local production of something and even the last time I saw a pantomime it was at the London Palladium, I’m ashamed to admit that I’d become a little bit of a “oh I saw that in the West End” kind of theatre person that I’d be neglecting gems of shows like this one that come to the theatre 5 minutes away from my house.

I have never laughed as much at a show or pantomime – ever! This show was a laugh a minute from the start to the end, and you know what? Despite my reservations about Beauty And The Beast as a panto, it somehow really worked and I would absolutely go and see it as a panto again. I’d forgotten just how good smaller pantomimes are. The larger productions I’ve been to see in recent years are just to slick and polished whereas this performance had the anything can happen (and does happen) charm about it that makes panto so good. Actors slipping out of character and laughing themselves, or something being thrown on stage that shouldn’t be or even props malfunctioning, every little thing like that is exactly what makes pantomimes good. I sat pretty much crying with laughter at some parts and well, isn’t that exactly what you expect from a pantomime?

The cast even had a celebrity cast featuring the likes of Kerry Katona from Atomic Kitten fame and even Basil Brush! I think most people in that audience would be aware of someone in the cast. Each person in the cast was fantastic and I would jump at the chance to see the entire cast / show again if I could.

The fact that the pantomime was at Easter wasn’t an issue either, I genuinely don’t know why this isn’t a permanent tradition as it didn’t feel odd in the slightest to be seeing it once the show had started. When I told people what I was going to see, everyone had the same confused ‘but its not Christmas’ reaction but don’t let this put you off. Maybe it helped that Beauty And The Beast was one I’d never known to be a pantomime so it just seemed perfectly normal to be seeing it.

I absolutely loved this show and I know I’ll be keeping an eye out for it coming to my local area again, it really is a fun filled show that everyone in the entire family will love. It was relatively cheap too which was a nice bonus!

If you click here it will send you to the shows Facebook page where you will be able to get more details about the future productions they’re doing. If they’re coming to your local area I can only recommend getting tickets – you will not regret it!

Incriminating Dating – Rebekah L. Purdy

by melissay1, posted in Book Review

Since subscribing to Kindle Unlimited it’s been along time since I’ve bought a book that isn’t a part of that scheme. However, when I read the blurb of Incriminating Dating it was an instant purchase for me.

Incriminating Dating tells the story of Ayla and Luke. Ayla is a pretty perfect student but her school doesn’t care about her extra curricular activities of the school paper and drama. Every year 100% of the funding goes towards sports meaning that the school papers days could be numbered and that the yearly drama production is repeatedly the same as they can’t afford new scripts. Ayla is fed up and thanks to a little persuasion from her friend she decides to run for class president even if 90% of the school doesn’t even know she exists. One night see catches the schools most popular guy, Luke defacing a statue and films it. Ayla has the perfect blackmail material now, either pretend to be her boyfriend to get her noticed around school or she releases the video. Reluctantly Luke agrees to her fake boyfriend proposal and somewhere along the line they both discover that perhaps a fake relationship isn’t as crazy as they both thought.

This book is one of those books that you start reading then a couple of hours lately you find that somehow you’ve finished the book already. It is an effortless read that you want to keep on reading until you finish. Not many books grab my attention enough to read it in one sitting but this book certainly ticked that box! I loved the story, the characters and the way the author writes so for me it’s a winner all round.

Luke and Ayla were both extremely likeable characters. Ayla is a nobody at school but she strives for change and to make a difference. Luke however couldn’t be more opposite, he’s the schools star basketball player and as his family is well known and wealthy, he walks around like he owns the school. My personal favourite of the two was Luke. He came as a real surprise to me. His embarrassment of not telling his peers the real truth about his family but all whilst working hard to maintain some kind of normality for his brother. Watching the pair discover that even though on paper they’re polar opposites, in reality they’re very similar was such a pleasure. I enjoyed every single interaction between them and you are constantly routing for them both the entire way through.

If you’re looking for a good young adult, romance story this is the book for you! It was a quick read but the story was great. It offered enough depth about the characters for you to be invested and care about what happened to the characters. You won’t regret purchasing this book!

Synopsis –

Opinionated, unconventional Ayla Hawkins isn’t the type to use blackmail, but sometimes a girl has to stand up for what’s right. So when she catches Mr. Perfect Luke Pressler doing something decidedly un-perfect, Ayla’s got the dirt she needs to get Luke on her side—in the form of her new fake boyfriend. 

One mistake. All Luke wanted was a night to goof off, to blow off steam. The next thing he knew, he was pretending to date Ayla Hawkins. But his little blackmailer turns out to be kind. Honorable. And just the breath of fresh air he didn’t even realize he was suffocating for. But Luke and Ayla come from different worlds, and once the terms of their agreement end, their fauxmance will, too.

Disclaimer: This Entangled Teen Crush book features adult language, sexual situations, and plenty of girl power. Reading may result in swooning, laughing, and looking for a Luke of your own.