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June Favourites | Books, TV & Music!

How is it the end of June?! I can’t believe how quickly this year is going! It seems like yesterday was January, and now we’re halfway through and will soon be counting down to the winter.

I thought I would share some of my favourite things from June with you on the blog today, talking about books, TV and music. Enjoy!

BOOKS

My exams finished in June so I’ve luckily been able to catch up on lots of the books I wasn’t able to read because of them. It’s been SUCH a good reading month that it was very hard to choose a favourite — so I’ve chosen two instead.

Freshers by Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivision

Freshers is their second YA novel, set in a university and following the lives of Phoebe and Luke as they navigate their first year. It’s just as funny, maybe even funnier, than their debut Lobsters, and I sped through the whole book in a day. It’s honest and authentic, with many serious topics touched on, whilst also being light-hearted and fun. Keep an eye out for my full review later in July!

A Shepherd’s Life by W.H. Hudson

This was first published over 100 years ago and has recently been brought back as part of the Penguin Classics series. I first heard about it through one of my favourite novels of last year, The Shepherd’s Life by James Rebanks, and I thought I’d love it as I’ve really been getting into reading nature writing recently.

It’s set in Wiltshire and recounts the lives of families living around the Salisbury and Wylye Valley area, most notably a shepherd called Isaac Bawcombe. The thing I found particularly notable was Hudson’s predictions on how farming life would be in the future after he’d written the book, which was interesting to compare to how things actually are now, in the post-industrial, technological society we live in. It’s safe to say he couldn’t have imagined somebody like me typing away at a computer about his book! I really enjoyed it and will be seeking out more of his books now, for sure.

TV

Skam

This month I’ve religiously been watching season 4 of Skam, my favourite TV show EVER. For those of you who don’t know what Skam is, it’s a Norwegian series set in a high school where every season follows a different main character, and it airs in realtime so if the characters are doing something at 10:21 on a Tuesday morning, the clip will air at that time too. I originally started by watching English translations that fans made on Google Drive, but this series I’ve been able to learn enough Norwegian that I haven’t had to wait for the translations — something I’m very proud of!

Season 4 has followed Sana, a Muslim hijabi and deals with Islamophobia, friendship and friendship problems, social media, and also has the CUTEST romance. I was, however, super upset because season 4 is the last season, so on the night the last episode aired I spent my time re-watching the last scene whilst crying my eyes out. I miss it so much already!

Poldark

Poldark is finally BACK and is continuing to mess with my heart. The wait between each episode every Sunday is horrible, and I don’t know how I’m managing it, to be honest. I love a good period drama and I think Poldark is one of the best. Series 3 definitely has a different feel to the other two, especially as there are lots of new characters, but I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. I eagerly await seeing what’s going to happen for the rest of the series!

MUSIC

Sigrid

Sigrid is an up-and-coming Norwegian artist who sings in English and I am obsessed with her EP, Don’t Kill My Vibe. I first found out about her from Vicki and have since followed her across all social media and listen to her music non-stop. I recently watched her set at Glastonbury on TV and was amazed at how good she sounds live — just like the recorded version!

Don’t Kill My Vibe is the song I listen to when I need motivation, or I’ll listen to the acoustic version if I’m looking for something a bit more chilled. I also really love Fake Friends, but all of the songs on the EP are equally as good as each other. She’s a real talent to watch!


What have been your favourites in June? Let me know in the comments below!

TBR

An Entirely Unrealistic December TBR

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I cannot believe that it’s already December. This year has flown by at an incredible rate, and I’ve read some amazing books so far. I want to binge read my way to the end – so I’ve put together a very large TBR that I want to work my way through up until New Year. Who knows if I’ll read them all?! (Probably not.)

There’s a lot of fantasy included because I’m working on a fantasy series at the moment – lots of research is being done, which means reading around the genre a bit more! I also really want to finish some of the series and trilogies that I’ve been meaning to read for absolutely ages.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

It seems like everyone has read and loved Six of Crows, so I’ve been putting it off for ages because I really want to love it and I’m worried I won’t. It’s the first book in a duology, the second book being Crooked Kingdom, so the hope is to read them both back-to-back if I enjoy Six of Crows.

It’s about a criminal gang who work together to pull off a heist and I’ve heard so much about how awesome the characters are that I can’t wait to dive into it to meet them. So far, I’ve read the first chapter and it’s really good. Hopefully it will continue that way!

Wing Jones by Katherine Webber

Wing Jones is one of my most-anticipated releases of 2016 so when a copy popped through my letterbox, I was EXTREMELY excited. Understatement. Katherine is one of my favourite people on the Internet and super lovely, so I have no doubt that I’m going to love Wing Jones with all my heart.

It tells the story of teenager Wing who is caught between two different worlds – she has a grandmother from China and another from Ghana, so she’s stuck between the two cultures. Wing is a runner and running is the one thing that could save her family, who have recently experienced a tragedy. It’s also the thing that could keep her from the one thing she wants. How AMAZING does that sound?!?!

Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour

I haven’t read a super good US contemporary in AGES and this year I’ve read a shamefully low amount of LGBTQ+ fiction, so Everything Leads to You is going to be my cure for this.

It’s set in Los Angeles with a main character who is a production designer and working in the film industry. Emi, however, still feels like every other teenager when it comes to romance. I think it sounds so cute! It’s exactly what I need.

Never Evers by Tom Ellen & Lucy Ivison

I have been meaning to read Never Evers since last year after loving Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison’s debut novel, Lobsters. As winter ended though, I knew it would be better for me to read it as it started getting colder again and I could get into the winter spirit. So now is finally time to read it!

It’s on the slightly younger side of the YA scale – as opposed to Lobsters, which was for slightly older teens – and is set during a school ski trip. It’s about friendship, awkward romantic endeavours, and also a French pop star who turns up at the same time as the school trip… I think it’s going to be great!

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

Whenever I scroll through Twitter, I always see people raving about how good Rebel of the Sands is. I *need* to read this soon!

It’s described as “an epic story of swirling desert sands, love, magic and revolution” which I think will be perfect to read now that I’m trying to get to more fantasy. I also want to read it before the sequel comes out next year, so I can stay up to date. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I’ll really like it!

A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston

A Thousand Nights is a YA retelling of Arabian Nights, which I’ve never read and don’t know too much about, to be honest. I picked it up, though, because it sounds really interesting – about a girl who tells stories to keep herself alive in a palace where she is sure death awaits. As her stories become more intricate and beautiful, though, her magic becomes more powerful.

It sounds beautiful and I love books that have individual stories interweaved into the main plot.

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Arsenic for Tea by Robin Stevens

I adored Robin’s debut novel, Murder Most Unladylike, and Arsenic for Tea is the second book in the series. They’re so quaint and amongst my favourite middle grade books. I can’t wait to continue on with the series and get back to Hazel and Daisy, the best pair of detectives ever.

In Arsenic for Tea, Hazel and Daisy have to solve the case of a poisoning that happens at Daisy’s home, Fallingford, over the school holidays. The books are set in the 1930’s and always make me feel super good inside, despite all the murder going on. They’re impossible not to love!

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

I heard about The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry a while back and loved Stacey’s review of it. A book about books?! I’m already in love.

It’s about the owner of a failing bookshop that one day finds a little girl on his doorstep with a note attached to her asking if he will look after her. It sounds incredibly cute and sweet, which I think will be perfect for the Christmas period.

Night School Endgame by C.J. Daugherty

The Night School series is one of my all-time favourites, but I’ve been super awful at finishing series this year. I think it’s because I don’t want to let them go! Night School Endgame is the final book in the series and the penultimate ended on such a cliffhanger that I’m not sure how I’ve waited this long for the next book.

I can already tell that it will be thrilling and exciting and will most likely smash my heart into smithereens, but all I can say to that is: BRING IT ON! I am so ready for it.

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Maggie Stiefvater is one of my favourite authors of all time and I’ve read the majority of her books, but not The Scorpio Races yet. Her writing is beautiful and lyrical; I’m constantly in awe when I read her books. If I can be half as good as her one day, it would be incredible!

It’s a standalone novel about a competition that happens every year where only one person can win. The first line is, “It is the first day of November and so, today, someone will die.” If that’s not the most thrilling first sentence ever, I don’t know what is.

Raging Star by Moira Young

I was obsessed with Blood Red Road and Rebel Heart when I read them a few years ago, but then never read the last book in the trilogy. I think I’m a little bit insane for leaving it this long, but it is a testament to the awesomeness of these books that I’m just as excited years later as I was then.

The trilogy is set in a post-apocalyptic future with a wasteland setting and Moira Young writes in such an interesting style that makes it so easy to get in the head of the protagonist, Saba. I can’t wait to jump back in to the incredible world that Moira has created – and I’m sure it will make me want to re-read all of the books again!

Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor

Days of Blood and Starlight is the second book in Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy. Again, it’s a trilogy that I started a few years ago and loved at the time, but I was reading so much that the subsequent books slipped through my net.

I want to finish this trilogy before I start Laini’s next, which starts with Strange the Dreamer. She’s absolutely amazing at creating a totally believable world and she’s one of my favourite fantasy writers. This is going to be fantastic!


What are you aiming to read in December? Let me know in the comments below!

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5 Essential Books to Catch Up On This Summer

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In my opinion, summer is the best time to get lots of reading done. I look forward to summer each year, when I can catch up on all the reading I’ve missed out on since the summer before. Here are a few books I think are essential to catch up on this year:

My Second Life by Faye Bird

What if you were born again, into another life, another body, but you had to live with the fact that you did something terrible in your previous life? All of the details, however, are just outside of your grasp… This is the premise of My Second Life, a thrilling, mysterious novel that I wish more people would read because I adored it. It kept me on my toes as I read on and on, not being able to put it down. A must read!

Boys Don’t Knit by T.S. Easton

To put it lightly, Boy’s Don’t Knit is the perfect book to make you cry with laughter. It’s about a boy who gets in trouble with the police after an unfortunate accident involving an old lady and a stolen bottle from Waitrose. As part of his community service, Ben has to take up a hobby and he chooses knitting. The book follows Ben as he learns that knitting isn’t just something for grannies, and tries to keep his new hobby a secret from his friends. I LOVED it!

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Book Review UKYA

REVIEW: Lobsters by Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison

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I’ve wanted to read Lobsters ever since hearing about it at the start of the year. I absolutely adore contemporaries (hence my blog name!) and so I think I’ve always known how much I would love Lobsters.

Hannah and Sam, both in the summer before university, have one thing in common: they have yet to lose their virginity. Their summers are filled with adventure, antics and a quest to find ‘The One.’

If I could describe Lobsters in one word I would label it ‘awkward’ in the best way possible. Teenage life is awkward, which makes it such an amazing portrayal of teenage life. Nothing in Lobsters is sugarcoated which means that Ellen and Ivison have written a book that reads very much like a memoir.

Lobsters is a ‘read it one sitting’ type of book that you won’t be able to put down. I know I couldn’t!

A funny and realistic take on a romantic teenage summer, Lobsters will make you want to squeal, scream in frustration and go out and find your own lobster.

Hannah and Sam were both extremely amazing characters who I felt so connected to. Told in dual narrative, it was a very rounded perspective of teenage life because we got both a male and female viewpoint. I also loved both equally, which is a nice change because I usually find that I prefer one to the other in dual narratives.

I loved Lobsters, which has quickly become a favourite summer read of mine! Highly, highly recommended!