The Wrong Bachelor – Alexandra Moody

by melissay1, posted in Book Review

The Wrong Bachelor by Alexandra Moody tells the story of Madi. Madi’s school is holding a dating competition to help to raise charity and she wants absolutely nothing to do with this competition. The school votes for one lucky bachelor and ten contestants to compete to be the bachelors date at prom. Despite Madi being in a relationship she is voted as one of the contestants and as its to raise money for charity she reluctantly agrees to take part – after all people are paying to vote for her so didn’t have much choice. What could go wrong except for the fact that the bachelor is Madi’s enemy Cole.

This book isn’t an original storyline, both characters hate each other and its a little predictable. Does that matter though? Not in the slightest. You know those books that make your heart flutter because it is just so insanely adorable? Yep, this book is 100% that category! It’s very rare that I fall instantly in love with certain parts of a book but this book had one particular part that I just want to read over and over again as you cant help but smile.

Despite both characters absolutely hating each other you can’t help but to like them both. Even when they’re just bickering with each other they’re likeable. Madi is strong minded whereas Cole is the perfect bachelor with his effortless talking to all the ladies – bar Madi! Even the other contestants of the competition were great, my personal favourite was Evan, the gay contestant trying to woo Cole’s attention despite him being straight. I found him hilarious and he made the book a little more light hearted.

Ok, this book was over exaggerated at times but at the end of the day the stories made characters are teenagers so of course they blow things completely out of proportion. Though to be fair in reality I probably would’ve reacted just as over the top in certain situations! It didn’t stop my enjoyment of this book at all, it was one of those stay up until 3am reading kind of books just to find out what happened.

If you’re a fan of The Bachelor (which this book is loosely based upon) or just like a good young adult romance novel then this is the book for you! Since I read this book, I’ve bought some of the authors other novels and from what I’ve read so far they’re all brilliant so its certainly worth checking out some of her others.

Synopsis – 

Bachelor: A desirable potential boyfriend. AKA not Cole Kingston.

Seventeen-year-old Madison (Madi) Matthews wants nothing to do with the dating competition her school is holding to raise money for charity. She’s never been interested in chasing a guy before and she certainly isn’t interested in competing for one in front of the whole school.

But, when Madi is voted as one of the ten “lucky” contestants, she’s given no choice but to vie for the heart of Lincoln High’s most eligible bachelor. The problem is, they’ve chosen the wrong guy.

Cole Kingston might be good looking, great with a football and practically the king of Lincoln High, but he’s also cocky, arrogant, a serial flirt and Madi’s sworn enemy.

Will she be able to resist him though when the competition heats up and he turns his charms on her?

 

Once Upon A Midnight Clear – Jacqueline E. Smith

by melissay1, posted in Book Review

If you get me talking about books it doesn’t take me long to mention how Jacqueline E Smith is one of my favourite authors. I absolutely adore her Boy Band series of books – I mean books about a band and the main character is called Melissa? Its not a surprise I love them really! I’ve read her other books and I loved reading them too so its safe to say that I was very excited to hear a new book, Once Upon A Midnight Clear, was out! It went straight to the top of my to read list.

Once Upon A Midnight Clear is the story of Princess Rosalind. Her whole life she’s been destined to marry Prince Nicolás not because she loves him, but because they’re both royals and the marriage would be a good match. Then Nicolás unexpectedly finds love with a normal girl and almost instantly proposes to her. Rosalind’s life has now fallen in disarray as everything that had been planned in life for her wasn’t possible anymore. Now on top with figuring out her own life she is being presented as a bad guy in the press as she heads to reluctantly spend the festive period with Nicolás and his new bride.

I really enjoyed reading this book. This Christmas I watched a ridiculous amount of Netflix films with a sort of similar story line and the entire time I was reading this book all I could think was how much I wanted this book to be made into a film! It would work so incredibly! I think its such a unique perspective for this kind of story. Normally the story would be told from Brittany’s point of view but this book is told from Rosalind’s perspective. How many stories are told from the person who got rejected in the fairy tale ending? It’s such a great idea for a book and if you like the idea you won’t be disappointed as its such a fantastic, well written story.

When I started reading this book I wasn’t sure what I would think about it. I love the normal girl meets the Prince kind of stories and part of me worried that Rosalind would just be the whining rejected Princess but it certainly wasn’t like this! As Rosalind was only ever just friends with Nicolás she is genuinely pleased that he has found someone he is madly in love with. I think this is important as it makes Rosalind a likeable character, she isn’t out to cause any form of trouble at all. You’re routing for Rosalind the entire way through particularly when she meets a mysterious stranger she actually has real feelings for!

Once Upon A Midnight Clear is technically a Christmas book but really you could read this whenever you wanted and still enjoy it just as much. Its another wonderful book from the author and if you like the cheesy, romantic Christmas movies you will absolutely love this book! The only complaint I have is that I wanted more! I feel like Rosalind’s story is only just beginning, so here’s to keeping our fingers crossed that this book will get a sequel in the future.

Synopsis –

Once upon a time, Princess Rosalind was supposed to marry Prince Nicolás and live happily ever after.

But everything changed when he fell in love with sweet and beautiful Brittany Walker, an American. Now, with Nicolás and Britt’s royal wedding fast approaching, Rosalind is struggling to find her place in a world that is always watching.

Can a visiting Viscount help Rosalind remember who she truly is? Or will a chance meeting with a handsome stranger end up being the Christmas miracle she never knew she needed?

It’s the Classic Christmas Romance…With a Royal Twist!

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.

Taylor Swift – reputation Stadium Tour

by melissay1, posted in Uncategorised

If you don’t know this already, a fact you’ll learn about me very quickly is that I love Taylor Swift and have done for the past ten or so years now. Taylor is the one artist I listen to whose music connects to me more than any other, her lyrics are just so relatable! Top that off with the fact that her shows are, and have always been, magical and just a whole new level to any other show I’ve been to – so its safe to say I was always going to love the fact I could watch her latest tour as many times as I wanted on Netflix.

I was debating whether or not to write anything at all about the reputation tour on Netflix as I’m not sure if I’ll be able to write something like this without it being garbage, but as I’ve near enough watched it every single day since it was released on Netflix on the 31st December it naturally makes sense for it to be this weekends blog post.

Taylor spent the majority of 2018 touring the world with her reputation stadium tour and the Netflix show is the entirety of the show but from a closer than front row seat. The concert begins with a montage of Taylor throughout the years, documenting the negative comments the media has thrown at her throughout her years in the public eye. Taylor’s reputation is a key theme of this tour which is no surprise considering her reputation album was likely written around the time the negativity surrounding her was at its peak. Taylor disappeared from the public eye and now she is back keeping her private life to herself and doing better than she ever was before now she doesn’t care about her reputation.

The concert begins with …Ready For It? which by just the title alone was a perfect choice for the introduction to her stadium tour. This was a fantastic opener when I went to her concert and it is even more incredible watching on the Netflix documentary. This is then followed by one my personal favourites from her reputation album, I Did Something Bad. I just can’t explain how well this song comes across live and I feel that this song really showcases Taylor’s confidence in herself. Its from here Taylor continues performing songs from her reputation album and hits from her previous albums – with Love Story sounding every bit as current as it did when I saw her perform it on her Fearless tour.

A quick outfit change and Taylor moves on to performing her reputation hit, Look What You Made Me Do. This song is Taylor well and truly hitting back at the haters and the song is even performed with a giant snake raising up from the ground. Taylor has just completely embraced the haters but without being petty about it and it just comes across wonderfully on stage. Plus the choreography of the dancers is pretty amazing and one of the cleverest routines I’ve ever seen. I went through a stage last year where people I didn’t know were name calling me and that I was being called out when I did nothing wrong and I listened to this song so much at the time, its nothing like what Taylor went through but for me this song performed live is one of my favourites for that reason. I loved seeing Taylor embrace her ‘snake’ name on stage and I feel that her doing that gives people who are going through a bad time with their own reputations hope that you do get over it and grow stronger as a person from the experience.

This brings me on nicely to when Taylor speaks to the crowd between songs. Every tour I’ve been to her speeches just connect with the crowd and I know from my point of view, every tour I’ve been to of hers she always says the things that I really needed to hear at that point of my life and the reputation tour was no exception. This tour in particular I feel the message she was conveying of trying not to care about what people say about you and how your reputation is perceived to others is such an important one.

What I love about Taylor’s shows is her ability to make sure every single person in the crowd enjoys her shows. She had 2 smaller stages at the back of stadiums on this tour to ensure everyone had a very good view of the show at some point during the night. I feel like the smaller stages were many people’s highlights as it saw Taylor revert back to just her and an acoustic guitar performing stripped backed versions of current songs as well as a surprise mystery song from her back catalogue. The Netflix documentary sees All Too Well, as the mystery song performed that night which I’m fairly sure is most fans favourite song – this is definitely a nice touch for the Netflix show!

Back to the main stage, Taylor performs a mash up of Bad Blood with Should’ve Said No proving that the old Taylor is still around! This was one of my favourite moments of the tour and I’m sure it pleased both fans old and new. Don’t Blame Me was one of my surprise highlights of the show, I was indifferent to the song but when you see it live you just can’t help but love it and because of its live performance it’s now one of my favourites from reputation and one of the ones I’ve watched on loop on Netflix.

After the intensity of Don’t Blame Me, Taylor slows it down with just her and a piano performing a medley of Long Live and New Years Day. New Years Day was my instant I love this song when I listened to reputation for the first time and I’ve adored Long Live since Speak Now was released so for me I couldn’t have asked for a better part of the show. I know I’ve said this a lot but this is also one of my highlights of the show.

Sadly the show comes to an end with Taylor fitting in a couple more songs from reputation before finishing with We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together and This Is Why We Can Have Nice Things – two songs I never would’ve thought worked together but surprisingly do! It’s so sad that the tour is over as I could just watch Taylor perform for hours, particular nowadays as she has a real new found confidence that just oozes out when you’re watching the concert. Plus this show has stepped up a notch from Taylor’s previous tours yet maintained everything you expect from one of her shows.

The reputation tour is my favourite tour I’ve been to in years and if you can’t tell by this blog I’m so thrilled I get to watch it on Netflix. If you’re a fan of Taylor you’ll absolutely love watching and if you’re not a fan and have a Netflix subscription why not give it a watch? I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at what an incredible show Taylor puts on.

Did you go to the reputation tour or have you watched the show on Netflix? I’d love to hear what you thought!

Rumor Has It – R.H.Tucker

by melissay1, posted in Book Review

Rumor Has It was one of the last books that I finished 2018 reading and boy did I finish on a high. You know those books that just make you make noises that don’t make sense because it is just that much of an adorable read? Well, this is the ultimate in that category of book.

The story is about two high school students Carter and Emma. Emma keeps herself to herself, she is super focussed about getting into an art school and hopefully being good enough to warrant being awarded a scholarship. Carter on the other hand is star basketball player and as far as the school believes, he’s the schools ladies man and he is more than happy with that reputation and does nothing to curb the rumours. Then one day thanks to a accidental mystery text message Carter and Emma’s lives intertwine without either of them knowing.

Carter and Emma couldn’t be any different people on the surface yet underneath everything they’re actually quite similar people and that is one of the things that makes this book so good. Its fascinating to read about them getting to know and really like each other over text message but still despise each other in real life. I associate more with Emma than the popular basketball star but you can’t help but like them both, I suppose part of this is due to the story being told from both perspectives.

I did find myself frustrated with Emma for being so thick at times as the parallel’s between mystery texter and Carter were insane at times and I found myself wanting to jump into the pages and just point out the obvious for her! However, her not finding out until the end just made me love it even more! I definitely loved this book far  more than I should admit, to the extent I read it in one sitting and stayed reading until the early hours of the morning until I’d finished.

Honestly, this book will just fill you with those happy feelings and I loved it. Now if you don’t mind me I’m off to go and get cracking on reading the rest of the books in the series…

Synopsis – 

Carter Dixon deals with rumors every day. That’s the way he likes it. One little hookup, combined with a bathroom scandal during his homecoming dance, sent the rumor mill into overdrive. Now he’s The Man. At least, as far as everyone believes. Who cares if he’s not really what everyone thinks. But when he accidentally texts the wrong person, he starts to wish he’d never let the rumor mill run rampant.

Emma Sanchez couldn’t care less about high school drama. Senior year is halfway over, and she’s only focused on applying to a good art school, graduating, and not getting involved. Okay, there is the occasional boy talk with her best friend. Then she gets a text message from an unknown number and starts to think maybe there is a guy out there, unlike every other high school boy. Especially guys like Carter Dixon.

One wrong number can lead to the right person.

Netflix Recommendations

by melissay1, posted in Television & Film

First things first…Merry Christmas to anyone reading this blog!

Well as its the festive season, I’m sure I’m not alone when I say I’ve watched an excessive amount of Netflix shows and films. So I thought I’d turn my hours I’ve spent watching things into something productive and do a blog post about my favourite things that I’ve watched this holiday season.

The Princess Switch

The Princess Switch is pretty much exactly what the title says, a princess switches with a normal girl after they accidentally meet and discover they look very similar. I’m a huge fan of all films like this, I love The Parent Trap, I love Monte Carlo…plus I like Vanessa Hudgens who plays both the normal girl and the princess, so it was always going to be a safe bet that I would love this film. Its obviously not a new idea for a film but it is one of those light hearted kind of movies that makes you feel all happy inside with all of its cute moments and that is exactly the kind of movie I want to watch this time of year. To be honest I think one is my favourite Christmas movie Netflix has released so far.

Christmas Inheritance

This was actually released last year and frankly I have no idea why I haven’t watched it sooner. Christmas Inheritance is about a heiress whose partying ways are out of control. her father doesn’t want her to inherit the company whilst she is like this so sends her on a task to delivery the annual Christmas letter to this business partner, who lives back where the company started in a extremely rural town that doesn’t even have phone signal. I wasn’t sure that I was going to like this movie but Ellie ultimately did end up likeable and it definitely gave you those warm fuzzy feelings which is why its on my recommended list!

A Christmas Prince – The Royal Wedding

Basically I think if you like cheesy romance films even slightly you’ll have repeatedly watched A Christmas Prince last year. Well now, Netflix has bought out the sequel, A Christmas Prince – The Royal Wedding and it is everything you would expect it to be. Personally I think I liked the first movie slightly move than this one but if you loved the first one you will still adore this film. Its still got everything you loved about the first film with the added bonus that they’re actually getting married! If you haven’t seen the first movie and love a good cheesy romance film then what are you waiting for, get watching it as soon as you can, you will not regret it!

Taylor Swift – reputation Stadium Tour

Yes I know this isn’t actually out until the 31st December but I mean, what else would be in my must watch list? I love Taylor and this tour was amazing. I didn’t think the reputation era was going to be one of my favourites of hers, I just didn’t connect with the songs as I did with previous albums. I was quite vocal about how I didn’t like reputation as much as her previous albums. Then, something happened in my life and I completely understood what Taylor felt like to be called out and for the world to hate you even when they don’t know you, and then suddenly that album clicked with me and I related to so many of the songs. Taylor knows exactly who she is now and isn’t letting anyone bring her down anymore, she just has a new stronger, more powerful stage presence. Seeing this tour live was incredible and did you see the amazing performance of I Did Something Bad at the AMAs?! This is going to be just like that but the entire show and I just cant wait to watch it! Expect me to be watching this tour very frequently and I’ll even try do a full blog post about my thoughts on it next week.

I’d love to know if anyone has a recommendation of a show/movie I should watch next!

Blogging Update

by melissay1, posted in Uncategorised

I started this blog again at the end of September and I had good intentions of writing weekly again but as ever even the best thought out plans never go well. As previously mentioned my last blog (which I wrote weekly for years) I became scared to post anything that wasn’t a book review, I just became pigeon holed into that being my thing. Then I felt pressured to read even when I wasn’t particularly enjoying alot of the books I was reading and then became even more pressured to write a review up of everything I read – it just lost the enjoyment for me. I love reading and I don’t think I’d actually stop writing book reviews but at the same time I don’t want to be restricted in that being the only thing that I’m allowed to write about. So, I started up this blog in a bid to post up what I wanted, when I wanted and give myself the freedom that I so badly wanted back .

However, the last month or so I’ve become obsessed with trying to figure out what my blogs ‘thing’ is. People keep telling me that my blog needs a thing, which I guess in my previous blog that was books. I feel like I’ve been using trying to find what my thing is basically as an excuse to procrastinate – because doesn’t everyone need the littlest excuse to not to do things? I watched a vlog recently and they were saying how Netflix and phone games and whatever else you chose to do instead will still be there after you’ve wrote things, and you know what that is so true. I spend too much of my life putting things off. Maybe yes I spend too much time watching Netflix lately and I definitely spend way too much time talking myself out of writing this blog with a million stupid reasons as to why I shouldn’t write it. Who cares if no one else but myself reads it? Who cares if people disagree with my opinions on things? This year was certainly an eye opener for me that people aren’t always going to like or agree with the things you do in life but why should that be a reason not to do things?

The truth is, I’ve missed blogging. I’ve enjoyed taking a few months out and have just read what I’ve wanted read and I’ve watched what I wanted to on Netflix but I’ve missed that little weekly burst of writing I used to get from doing a blog. Maybe I don’t need to decide what my thing is. Maybe just writing every week will help me discover. Maybe just writing up weekly waffle is a thing? Who knows, but I’m back giving this another go.

The diary is back out, the weekly blog planning is happening again and I’ve talked to people about doing the occasional guest post on here. I’m excited about doing this again and for the time being that is all that matters.

Dear Evan Hansen – Val Emmich

by melissay1, posted in Uncategorised

If you mention the word musicals to me it will not take me long to get on to telling you how much I love Dear Evan Hansen. However, fun fact – I’ve never actually seen it! I visit New York relatively frequently so I like to keep my eye on the new shows on Broadway. A few years ago I heard the song Waving Through A Window, instantly downloaded the rest of the Dear Evan Hansen album, read the storyline and bam one of my favourite musicals happened! So imagine how thrilled I was to discover my favourite musical has recently been released as a novel!

Dear Evan Hansen tells the story of Evan. Evan has anxiety and in order to try help him his mum sends him to a therapist to attempt to get him get out of his shell. One of his therapy tasks is to write daily letters to himself to try encourage himself, hence the title Dear Evan Hansen! One day one of Evans letters ends up in the wrong hands and thanks to this, Evan finds himself accidentally pretending he was best friends with his classmate Connor, who killed himself due to depression. Now, Evan isn’t living in the shadows anymore as everyone wants to know about his friendship with Connor. However the longer the lie goes on the deeper wrapped in the web of the lies Evan finds himself.

The book was everything I expected it to be and more. Like previously mentioned I’ve never actually seen the musical so I was absolutely thrilled to be able to read the entirety of the story. It’s also interesting as you so easily see where the songs fit into the story even when it’s in book form.

I relate so much with Evan Hansen as a character which is probably the reason I am so obsessed with this story. I feel like everything that Evan does I would’ve done exactly the same thing in his position. I believe he really does mean well when he starts his lie then he just ends up rolling with it and I find myself sympathising with him more and more as the story goes on. The story could so easily have been a story about an annoying kid who wants to be liked so lies about being friends with someone at school who committed suicide and you just don’t care what happens to him as he lied. But it’s not, Evan bumbles through his lie and his intentions are always good. I just can’t explain how wonderful of a character Evan is but I’m sure if you read the book / see the musical you will love him too and find yourself in tears as you go further into his story.

Dear Evan Hansen is probably the most important story on stage at the moment due to its focus on multiple mental health issues throughout. It presents mental health in a realistic way and I think we need more of this. It doesn’t make fun or glamourise mental illnesses, it’s all very real and I’m sure many people can relate to the story.

Regardless of if you like musicals or not this books so great as a stand-alone. If you know nothing about the musical, it doesn’t matter. It’s the same wonderful story just in a book without the songs. I honestly think you should make this book one of your must reads of 2018. Also if you read this book and love it, you have to listen to the songs! They really just completely add to your reading experience as you imagine the songs in parts as your reading.

Synopsis –

Dear Evan Hansen, 

Today’s going to be an amazing day and here’s why… 

When a letter that was never meant to be seen by anyone draws high school senior Evan Hansen into a family’s grief over the loss of their son, he is given the chance of a lifetime: to belong. He just has to stick to a lie he never meant to tell, that the notoriously troubled Connor Murphy was his secret best friend. 

Suddenly, Evan isn’t invisible anymore–even to the girl of his dreams. And Connor Murphy’s parents, with their beautiful home on the other side of town, have taken him in like he was their own, desperate to know more about their enigmatic son from his closest friend. As Evan gets pulled deeper into their swirl of anger, regret, and confusion, he knows that what he’s doing can’t be right, but if he’s helping people, how wrong can it be? 

No longer tangled in his once-incapacitating anxiety, this new Evan has a purpose. And a website. He’s confident. He’s a viral phenomenon. Every day is amazing. Until everything is in danger of unraveling and he comes face to face with his greatest obstacle: himself. 

A simple lie leads to complicated truths in this big-hearted coming-of-age story of grief, authenticity and the struggle to belong in an age of instant connectivity and profound isolation.

Theatrical – Maggie Harcourt

by melissay1, posted in Book Review

TheatricalI had a Waterstones voucher to redeem and after a very quick browse I picked up Theatrical by Maggie Harcourt. The cover grabbed my attention, the title suggested it was theatre related and by the time I’d read the blurb the book was in my hand and I was walking to the till to pay.

Theatrical tells the story of Hope who since a very young age has wanted to work backstage in a theatre. Hope manages to get a theatre internship and keeps in a complete secret – especially from her very famous costume designer month! Hope wants this internship on her own merit without people thinking her mum has got her the job. Hope is thrilled to get a job on such a high profile show but add into the mix an extremely stroppy Hollywood actor and his very attractive teenage understudy Hope soon finds herself questioning whether she’s cut out for this after all.

On paper this book is everything I love. I enjoy going to see theatre shows so naturally I loved the setting on the book and I love a good young adult romance novel. Well, this book ticks all of the boxes – I loved it! The story is told from Hope’s perspective and you just cant help but like her. She tries so hard to stay focussed and to keep everyone happy and sometimes this doesn’t go as planned. You laugh along with her, you share her frustrations as she’s running around after actor Tommy Knight – she’s just such a likeable character. Every character in the book added something to the story and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about every single one.

The story is also brilliant, following Hope from her interview for the internship to the rehearsal room all the way to it being in the theatre. I don’t know if the author has theatre experience but I certainly believed every single description of the theatre world. It just captured my attention from beginning to end. The romance element is also quite minimal but the moments that happen truly add to the book.

I just loved this book. It got my attention from start to finish. Now if you don’t mind me I’m off to make a start on author Maggie Harcourts pervious book Unconventional.

Synopsis –

Hope dreams of working backstage in a theatre, and she’s determined to make it without the help of her famous costume designer mum. So when she lands an internship on a major production, she tells no one. But with a stroppy Hollywood star and his hot young understudy upstaging Hope’s focus, she’s soon struggling to keep her cool… and her secret.

Gorgeously fresh, funny and commercial YA romance from the author of Unconventional, and The Last Summer of Us.

Heathers The Musical

by melissay1, posted in Theatre

HeathersFlashback earlier in the year and I was only vaguely aware of the musical Heathers. Yes, I’d seen the 1980s movie of the same name and yes, I was aware a musical version existed and I had heard Seventeen, one of the songs from the musical, but other than that my knowledge on the musical was relatively limited. However, earlier this year the show moved to London playing at The Other Palace theatre before very recently transferring to the West End’s Theatre Royal Haymarket and having seen both theatre’s performances it’s safe to say I am now well and truly obsessed with this musical.

Heathers follows roughly the same story as the original movie and for fans of the movie you’ll be pleased to know that it includes all the fan favourite quotes. Veronica is a nobody who dreams of life getting better, then one day she ends up being allowed to hang out with the most popular girls in school – three girls called Heather. Although Veronica’s new friends aren’t the nicest, Veronicas life is finally looking up until JD turns up. JD is mysterious and sends good girl Veronica down a murderous route.

The cast of Heathers has been so incredibly cast and every single performer on that stage is fantastic and I really wish I could mention every person as they all give such outstanding performances. Carrie Hope Fletcher playing the lead character Veronica, is an absolute star. I have seen Carrie in every role she’s done so far but she has completely stepped up in this role, she plays every single emotion in this role and you really go on a journey with Veronica. In particularly her comedic timing facial expressions are second to none and vocally this role was just made for her. I don’t think it is possible to leave that theatre and not be in awe of her performance.

However, for me it’s Jamie Muscato as JD that was the real surprise of the show. It is very rare I leave a show and can’t stop telling people how incredible one certain performer was but this was certainly the case with Jamie’s performance. The character transformation is like nothing I’ve seen before, you start the show seeing why Veronica falls in love with him as he’s stood looking effortlessly cool in a 7/11 and then you end up being completely and utterly terrified of what he is going to do next, particularly during his performance of song Meant To Be Yours, where I found myself perched at the end of my seat in anticipation. That scene alone is one of my favourite performances I’ve ever seen in a show. I’ve never experienced such extreme emotions from one character whilst watching a show before which for me makes him the best male performer in the West End at the moment in my opinion.

As previously mentioned though every single performer in the show gives an unbelievable performance and for this all round fantastic cast alone it is worth seeing Heathers.

If you’re not aware of the music to Heathers, boy are you in for a treat especially as the UK show comes complete with three new songs to the American offering of the show. Every song adds to the show and I can guarantee you will be leaving the theatre with the songs etched in your brain.

It’s also worth mentioning the stage door procedure at Heathers. Heathers have implemented some rules at stage door and are operating more of a style of a Broadway stage door. Fans are behind a barrier as cast members come out of the theatre (which gives the cast the choice as to whether or not to do the stage door that night or not) and go down the line and meet absolutely everyone waiting. I think it’s refreshing of a show to so openly give cast members a choice of doing stage door and personally I think it makes it a much more pleasant experience for both cast members and fans.

I could talk to you about Heathers Musical all day long if you’d let me – and believe me I have spent far too many hours boring my family and friends with it already! This never happens for me, I can tell people I love a show but it’s very rare I get this obsessed with one which I think just shows how fantastic this show is. From the incredibly catchy songs you’ll be singing for days, to the outstanding cast, to even the life lessons its sharing with the audience (the show features sexuality, bullying and suicide to name a few) – I just cannot explain how great this show is. Sadly, the show finishes in London on the 24th November so I can only urge you to get a ticket to see this show and cast before it closes.

For more information about the show and to buy tickets – https://heathersthemusical.com/