Category: Uncategorised

My Virtual Prince Charming (Geeks Gone Wild #2) – Maggie Dallen

by melissay1, posted in Book Review, Uncategorised

On paper, school geek Suzie and Mr Popular Luke Warner, couldn’t be any more different. The pair never really had anything to do with each other until the day an embarrassing photo of Suzie was circulated around the school, since then Luke has make it his personal mission to annoy her. Then Suzie and Luke are paired together for a programming competition and now neither can avoid the other. The only thing that helps Suzie get through the day is knowing that when she goes home she can play her favourite video game online and talk to her online friend who despite being a complete stranger is Suzie’s perfect match and she is a tiny bit in love with him. The only problem is Luke’s secret. Luke is in fact the ‘stranger’ Suzie talks to online and he knows that Suzie would most certainly flip out if she ever knew the truth.

My Virtual Prince Charming is book number two in the Geeks Gone Wild series. I really enjoyed book one, Love At First Fight – click here to read my review. Despite this book being a series, My Virtual Prince Charming can be read as a standalone with no issues, however I did feel that I benefitted from having read book one first. I feel like the knowledge of the viral geeks gone wild photos and how the geeks got involved with the popular kids does help with your enjoyment of this book as events that happen in book one are revisited in book two. Also, as much as I enjoyed My Virtual Prince Charming I did prefer Love At First Fight so that one is well worth reading but if you do plan on reading this series read book one first as book two does contain spoilers.

My Virtual Prince Charming is stereotypical geek falls in love with popular guy kind of story but it really works in this book series. The popular kids aren’t the standoffish wouldn’t talk to anyone but the people in their inner circle type of character and the geeks are somewhat open to talk to the popular kids but that’s probably mainly due to events that happened in the previous book. Although some parts of this story are over exaggerated (I mean what is the chances that Suzie and Luke were talking to each other) they are still believable story lines which the reader enjoys from start to finish. They are the type of stories that you start reading and before you know it you’ve finished which only demonstrates how good of a book series this is.

What I like about this book is that although Luke is hiding his online gamer secret, the geek character Suzie, is also somewhat hiding that part of her life. Luke had no idea how much of a gamer she was until he stumbled into her bedroom and saw it decked head to toe in varying game posters. I think both characters are just normal, relatable characters and I don’t think anyone who read this book wouldn’t like them. Suzie although a geek, is feisty and is always willing to speak her mind and stand up for herself and her friends and Luke has a damaged home life but he doesn’t take this out on others, he’s actually really kind and friendly even when he’s teasing Suzie. I think far too many book characters with a troubled home life take it out on the people around them and it’s nice that despite this Luke has remained relatively normal

I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before but finding a good young adult romance novel is so hard and this book series ticks all the boxes. If you’re looking for a cute, romantic young adult novel you really should add the Geeks Gone Wild series to your list. It is one of the best young adult romance book series I’ve read in a long time.

Synopsis –

Gamer vs Player

Some girls have a dream guy, but Suzie’s ideal boyfriend is totally real. He’s just…virtual.

Suzie doesn’t need to see her online gaming buddy to know that he’s her perfect match. The problem lies in reality, AKA high school. Ever since a humiliating photo of her surfaced on the first day of senior year, she hasn’t been able to escape the attention of Luke Warner, the hottie player who’s apparently made it his mission to annoy her. Now that they’re paired together in a programming contest there’s no way she can avoid him…or their chemistry. His unexpected kisses might be earth shattering, but he’s so not her type.

Luke’s got a secret, and it’s one that could change everything between him and his new computer science partner. Suzie thinks he doesn’t know her at all, and she seems convinced that she doesn’t like him. But what if she knew that he was her online BFF? That would change everything. But will sharing his secret bring them together or tear them apart?

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.

Blog Schedule?

by melissay1, posted in Uncategorised

I spent an entire evening this week writing up my dream holiday for a competition and I really enjoyed writing about what I liked about going to a certain place. This made me realise that sometimes I might actually want to write about places I’ve holidayed or my recommendations for things to do in certain places on my blog. Or even if I just want a post to let out my love for something, especially as I know people in real life will only listen to you enthusiastically talk about things you love so much before you start getting an eye roll in response.

Currently I aim to post every weekend but at the moment I’m reading enough books to warrant that being my weekly post. I love reading books and writing my review up afterwards especially as I read reviews before buying a book, so I don’t want to stop writing those but it’s also stopping me from blogging about anything but books. I love reading and books so I know this isn’t a bad thing, I just want the option to post about other things I love too.

So…thoughts please! How would people feel about if I increased my blog posting? If I want to post about my favourite musicals, a concert I’ve been to or just general travel posts…would anyone be interested in reading more of that kind of thing? I’m thinking book reviews on a Sunday as normal then more of a ‘Whatever Wednesday’? If you want book reviews you know to check back on a Sunday but if you’re interested in reading other things check in on a Wednesday?

If I post about must see things to do in x city, I worry that I may come across abit annoying in a ‘oh look at her showing off about these amazing things that she’s done’ kind of way but anything I have done I’ve paid for myself and although I appreciate I’m in a fortunate position as I have little outgoings, I do work a lot more hours than the average working week to be able to afford to do things. I honestly would not mean to come across as showing off or anything like that, I just want to post about things I’ve enjoyed doing and maybe someone would get inspiration of things they might want to do one day. I know I read so many reviews / watch YouTube videos when I go on holiday to decide what to do. My last holiday I literally watched a YouTube video and jotted down the things I liked the look of from that and made my travel itinerary from it.

At the moment I’m feeling in a relatively creative place so I’m itching to write more than once a week whilst I feel in the mood to. However, I’m not committing to weekly Wednesday points, just more of a see how it goes type of thing! Weekends however, will still be weekly!

If you’re interested in reading a Whatever Wednesday post or not please let me know your thoughts?

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!

 

CoppaFeel Trek 2019

by melissay1, posted in Other, Uncategorised

For those who don’t know, last year I participated in the biggest challenge I’ve ever undertaken – and lets be honest its probably the biggest challenge I’ll ever do in my lifetime. Last year, I was one of sixty lucky participants who was selected to take part in CoppaFeel’s annual trek and honestly it was one of the best experiences of my life. CoppaFeel (with the help of Fabulous magazine) have announced details of this years trek, they’re only going to be going to the Himalayas! Applications to go onto the trek close next week so I thought I would use this weeks post to write abit about my experience of doing the trek in case you were sitting on the fence about applying.

The trek I participated in saw me flying to Romania for a week long trek in Transylvania with sixty complete strangers. Its the strangest thing but if you’re worried about not knowing anyone don’t be! By the time we’d even landed in Romania friendships were already being made and by the flight home we all left with a bunch of new lifelong friends of who we’ll always have completing this crazy adventure in common with. You’re even paired with a complete stranger (I do believe they paired you up by age) who you spend the entirety of the week cooped up in the tiniest of tents with – I’m not even kidding, we couldn’t even stand up in our tent or put our tshirts on without almost hitting your tent mate! My tent buddy was the most lovely person in the world and I left the week feeling like I’d known her my entire life, we laughed through the week together and experienced the highs and lows of trek life.

My year was headed up by two celebrity captains, the very lovely Lisa Snowdon and Tom Fletcher. I liked being split up into two smaller teams as it meant you could speak to everyone on your team but you do see the other team plenty during the week. You knew everyone on your team and it was great to get to know every single person. Both of the team captains we had we fantastic and it was just like speaking to a friend and not a celebrity – which is exactly what you want on a trek like this! This years trek is captained by Giovanna Fletcher, Brooke Vincent and two unannounced team captains and I’m sure they’ll all be just as wonderful and supportive as our captains.

The walk itself…well where do I start! It is tiring and that is an understatement! I went into this walk having already pushed myself to try and get fitter (prior to this I did minimal exercise, the dog walk was about as far as it went…) and boy was that nowhere near enough. Day one came and I wondered what on earth I was doing and how on earth I was supposed to get through the rest of the week – especially as day one had been advertised as the ‘easy’ day. However, your team are the most supportive people and you’re not judged for being slower and struggling going uphill – yes just the uphill’s, I loved even the steepest downhills! They were quick to believe you can do it even when you’re convinced that you can’t and someone was always around to help you get up the hills, one step at a time. You’re never left to struggle on alone and I think that’s the best part of the CoppaFeel trek, everyone wants to cross that line as a team and no one see’s it as a race. Everyone just helped each other where they could. A slightly easier route was even factored into the plans on the big mountain day too which was greatly appreciated, so the week really is achievable by everyone. This years trek isn’t until November so hopefully those extra few months will be crucial to help get your fitness up ready for the trek. If I could complete the trek, anyone can!

The major downside to the CoppaFeel trek which was the main thing that put me off applying is the fundraising. You have to raise a lot of money to go as well as pay a deposit to secure your place. However, last year I managed to somehow raise over £3000 with relatively little effort! I’d planned fundraising concerts, car boots – anything really to try hit the target I needed to raise but I didn’t actually do any of it! You’ll be surprised at how generous people are when they hear you’re raising money for CoppaFeel and people will tell you so many stories about how breast cancer has affected them or a close family member, which when you’re struggling getting up mountains you find yourself thinking of these stories and it really helps you find the energy to carry on as you know what you’re doing is for such a good cause. However, I did have fantastic support, I had workmates asking departments I’d never even step foot in to sponsor me and I even had a friend do a 24 hour bikeathon with all monies going to my fundraising page. Help to fundraise comes in surprising ways and peoples generosity will never fail to astound you.

Really I can’t explain how much I would recommend doing the CoppaFeel trek. I’m not going to lie, it will be the hardest week of your life but it’s so completely worthwhile at the end. I’ve never felt such emotion as I have crossing the finish line on the final day! If you’re looking for a challenge and want to help raise money for a fantastic charity then I couldn’t recommend applying to take part in this trek enough – plus this years celebrates the 10th anniversary of CoppaFeel!

If anyone has any questions about the trek I’m more than happy to answer anything – believe me since I’ve come back I still find it hard to resist talking to people about ‘this one time in Transylvania’ or ‘that time I went on a trek’ so I really am happy to answer anything. Also, whilst your reading my blog post, remember to check your boobs! This is CoppaFeel’s main message and I know my eyes were opened on the trek how important early detection is and how breast cancer can affect any age or gender.

For more information on the trek and how to apply click hereFor more information on the trek and how to apply click here

 

 

January

by melissay1, posted in Other, Uncategorised

Despite the month seeming like it lasted forever, it seems that without even realising it the first month of the year is over. I’ve seen quite a lot of blog posts these last couple of days doing a recap of what they read / watched etc in a month and I think this is a great idea. I’m not sure I’ll do this every month but lets see how this goes…

Books

I found myself reading seven books in January. I started the month off obsessively reading then found it difficult to pick up a book the last couple of weeks but to be honest I’m happy with the amount that I managed to read as previously I’ve definitely found the life/reading balance hard to juggle! As usual, I’ve set my reading goal at twenty books this year so currently I’m well on track with this.

I’ve discovered Amazon’s unlimited kindle books service so currently I’m rapidly working my way through all the books that I like the sound of on that. I’ve been slightly less choosy as I know that if I don’t even half like a book within the first couple of chapters I can just move onto the next one. Any book recommendations are always appreciated especially if I can download on the kindle unlimited service as the amount of time I spend picking a book to read now I have lots of choice is crazy.

This month I read the following –

I write blog posts as I’ve finish reading a book so I have a few posts ready to go for future weeks but I sadly didn’t write a review up of much that I read this month. I think in future months this is something that I’d like to improve on. Writing a review of a book takes a fair amount of time and sometimes I find it restrictive as I can’t move onto a new book if I want to write a review so perhaps its ambitious for me to say I’m going to do everything I read but I’m definitely going to try improve the amount that I write.

Music

January was well and truly the month of musicals. I’m not entirely sure why but I’ve pretty much exclusively listened to musical soundtracks this month.

It comes as no surprise that the Dear Evan Hansen cast recording has been the top of that list, I don’t think I’ve ever been as invested in a show before, I relate so much to Evan and the songs could literally be wrote about my life, and the excitement that the tickets for the West End show could be released any day now is probably helping my constant replaying of the songs. Plus the Broadway version has been exciting this month too, as they have very recently got a new Evan, in the form of sixteen year old Andrew Barth Feldman. I just can’t explain how much he looks how I imagined Evan in my head, I know its unlikely I’ll personally get to New York this year but if anyone reading this does please go and see Dear Evan Hansen and tell me how amazing the new Evan is and warn me how many packets of tissues I’ll need to take with me when I eventually go and see the show…

I’ve also had Zanna Don’t playing quite a lot this month too. I stumbled across a video on YouTube of Heathers star, Jamie Muscato singing Fast from this musical (if you wanted to watch this video click here!) and it reminded me how I was once obsessed with this song! Its such a fun soundtrack and well worth a listen – Fast in particular provides the perfect break I’ve needed from the serious, pulling my heart strings-ness of Dear Evan Hansen!

School Of Rock on Broadway has shut this month and that has been all over my twitter feed so its not a surprise that I’ve revisited this soundtrack this month too. I love School Of Rock and I was lucky enough to see the original Broadway cast when I was in New York a few years back. Alex Brightman is one of the best theatre performers I’ve ever seen and I loved his performance and the show so much that I saw the show one night, walked out and booked a ticket for the night after. Alex Brightman is just the perfect Dewey Finn and his enthusiasm just shines even through the cast recording. I’m seeing a trend of me being desperate for a New York trip but Alex Brightman is in Beetlejuice on Broadway at the minute and its insane how much I would love to see him in a different role to Dewey.

Films

My Netflix subscription has been used in overload this month. Except just to watch Taylor Swift’s reputation tour on loop. I genuinely don’t think a day has passed that I haven’t watched at least part of this tour. You know those crazy statistics that Netflix post every so often saying that twenty users have watched Taylor Swift’s tour everyday this month? Yeah…I’m that person. If you like Taylor and you haven’t watched this yet what are you waiting for?! I did write a post on this tour if anyone wants a listen – click here!

I think that just about sums up my January favourites! I’m not overly sure how often my favourite things change, will I still be obsessively listening to musicals in February? I am so far so if that doesn’t change, I think I’ll probably concentrate on writing up a more in depth book roundup in future months, but we’ll cross that bridge at the end of the month.

If you’ve read this and can recommend me something to read/watch/listen to that you think that I’d love, I’m very happy for recommendations!

 

The Design – R.S. Grey

by melissay1, posted in Book Review, Uncategorised

The Design is the story of Cameron Heart. She’s fresh out of architecture college and into an interview for a position at one of the more prestigious architecture firms. Only downside? She knows she only has this interview as her sister is very close friends with the owner, Grayson Cole. Plus the whole fact that she’s had a crush on him for years certainly complicates her potential boss / employee relationship!

Fun fact about me, every so often I read a book and it’s all I can think about. In fact it gets more than just thinking about it, it completely takes over my life. I read this book over two evenings but for the days I was reading, this book well and truly became my life. I found myself sat at work, worried about Grayson coming into the office and he’s a fictional character! I had to know how this book ended and it really was all I could think about.

I loved Cammie. She was everything you wanted in a main character. She was likeable, she stood up for herself, she worked hard…what more can you want? I even liked Grayson despite him being abit of a twonk at times during this book. I loved how they interacted together too, from her bursting into his office to him turning up at her flat. I think the fact that these characters encroached into my real life cements the fact that these characters are fantastic.

What’s the best thing about the book? The ending, and I certainly mean this in a good way! You spent the whole novel routing for the main characters and the ending is one of the most adorably sweet endings I’ve ever read. It was absolutely everything I needed from this book and I’m going to put this in my top ten of perfect happily after after novels, the kind you just reread when you want that romantic pick me up.

If you can’t tell by now I can’t begin to explain how much I loved this book. If you’re a fan of your romance novels then this book is for you!

Synopsis –

Five minutes until the interview begins.

Fresh on the heels on her college graduation, Cameron Heart has landed an interview at a prestigious architecture firm.

Four minutes until the interview.

She knows she’s only there because the owner, Grayson Cole, is her older sister’s friend.

Three minutes.

For the last seven years, Grayson has been the most intimidating man Cammie has ever had the pleasure, or displeasure, of being around.

Two minutes.

But the job opportunity is too good to pass up. So, Cammie will have to ignore the fact that Grayson is handsome enough to have his own national holiday.

One.

After all, she shouldn’t feel that way about her new boss. And, he will be her new boss.