// the berlin cathedral //



// caught taking snaps //

 

// the backside view of the cathedral // a lazy canal //

 

// erin snapped on her phone amidst insane artwork // 

// fuck wars //

// tourist //

 

// I just love these colours //

// spot the veggie // and the strawberry beer //

 

// freedom //

// the first hostel we stayed in on our travels // my first hostel ever //

// kiss kiss // iconic

berlin was a wonderful and vibrant city; I absolutely loved my time there and whole-heartedly encourage those of you who have never been but are intrigued by the city to go. my cousin and I went in the beginning-middle of june, the weather was supreme and one of the best moments of the entire trip for me was lazing about under a museum's awning perpendicular to the breath-taking berlin cathedral. looking out over the grounds, dozing, people-watching, examining maps of the city, just taking a moment to breathe in front of the majestic sight of the building, stretched out on my back, head propped up by my backpack, gave me indescribable feelings of contentment and joy. we would also stumble upon incredibly cool artwork hidden down many alleyways of the city as we were exploring, and the berlin wall artwork was just as worth seeing as is expected. unfortunately, even in berlin, I'm still not a fan of beer, it's just... yucky. I gave it my best try, but even a strawberry flavoured brand didn't sway me. my first experience of a hostel was also pretty good, my roommates were from all over and could chat away about their travels, and one guy was especially charming, offering us cheese he'd picked up on the road and inviting us out with him and his friends at night. we couldn't go one night and woke up to find him passed out on his bed next to us the next day with a feather boa wrapped around his neck, feathers strewn about the room. I'm just guessing here, but he probably had a pretty amazing night.

 

-- go confidently in the direction of your dreams --

- rachel

**all these pictures are either mine or my cousin's, therefore ownership is claimed**

currently watching;

reign;

been a fan of it since the beginning and will continue to follow it until the end. lover of its flaws, characters and amazing dress sense. gets better and more tense with each season. so excited for season four.

 

poldark;

 

an extremely well-made production (BBC, what can I say) with a host of characters you cannot help but root for. also has a number of entertaining, complex relationships giving it a tense edge. also a big fan of eleanor tomlinson as demelza (and as an actress, in general). her renditions of medhel an gwyns and red is my heart are beautiful. 

 

 

victoria;

 

another very well-made production. admittedly, I'm not particularly a fan of victoria's character, herself, but something about this show is utterly addictive. I might be a little bit in love with albert too, which probably helps.

 

 

great british bake off;

 

I've never been much of a gbbo loyalist. when an episode's been on, I've watched it and enjoyed it, yes, but never have I loyally watched a series of it until this year. and I've been following this one week in, week out. what's changed? who knows, but I'm rolling with it. even if my favourite was voted off last week. *sad face*

 

 

our girl;

 

a really enthralling and tense series. have been really enjoying this one and was quick to be invested in georgie's story and backstory. michelle keegan plays a great character.

 

A lot of the shows I'm watching just now seem to be period dramas. I'd love to find an amazing fantasy series (since I am a fantasy fanatic) but I've yet to find one that completely enthrals me.

 

Any recommendations? Are you watching any of these shows? What are your current favourites?

 

- rachel

Review: Lost on Mars

Author: Paul Magrs
Edition: Firefly eARC
Released: 14th May 2015
Series: Lost on Mars #1
Pages: 336 approx.
Links: Goodreads | Author's Blog | Buy the book!

With the scale and scope of the great science fiction epics, Lost on Mars tells the story of Lora and her family, settlers on the red planet struggling to survive in incredible circumstances. The family clings to life on a smallholding, surviving storms and sinister rumours of people disappearing – until one night Lora sees the Dancers. When her father and grandmother disappear, Lora and her family are driven out to seek a new life across the plains. But none of them are ready for what they find – the beautiful, dangerous City Inside.

I'm not 100% sure of my feelings for this book so I'm going to have to break it down into my favourite things and my not-so-favourite things.

The Highlights

• I loved the fact it was set on Mars - it just made it that little bit more unique.
• I quite liked the main character, Lora. She was a great lead for the novel and fit into the storyline very well. I also really liked Peter's character, who we met later on. I'm quite intrigued as to what role he'll end up playing in future books and what he'll bring to the storyline.
• I also really enjoyed the fact that there was so much mystery surrounding everything - even having finished the book, nothing is clear to me! I'm just left with the gut feeling that something isn't right and the world Lora lives in is mucked up.
• The world was, undeniably, very complex.
• You can also see how the author has written Doctor Who books because there was a general foreign, alien feel to the book - which I rather enjoyed!
• **AN UPDATED ADDITIONAL HIGHLIGHT** It's thought-provoking - I finished it this morning and all I've been doing since is mulling it all over. It gets in your head.

The Lowlights

• It didn't feel like that much actually happened overall in the novel, and some parts seemed to drag. It took me longer to get through than a lot of books I read - though I wouldn't say at any point was it bad.
• I wasn't overly attached to any of the other characters we were stuck with for a majority of the novel, aside from Lora and Peter and her Da.

To conclude, I did really enjoy this book - I'm just unsure at the minute as to the extent of my enjoyment. I've not quite decided whether I'll pick up the sequel yet but I may just end up doing so because I need answers badly!

**UPDATE** The more I think about the book, the more I think I've enjoyed it. Strange, maybe, but I'm going to roll with it.

Happy Reading,
Rachel xoxo

Review: The Golden Specific (The Mapmakers Trilogy #2)

Author: S.E. Grove
Edition: Viking ARC
Released: 14th July 2015
Series: The Mapmakers Trilogy #2
Pages: 528 approx.
Links: Goodreads | Author's Website | Buy the book!

**MINOR SPOILERS IN SYNOPSIS BUT SPOILER FREE REVIEW**

It is the summer of 1892, one year since Sophia Tims and her friend Theo embarked upon the dangerous adventure that rewrote the map of the world. Since their return home to Boston, she has continued searching for clues to her parents’ disappearance, combing archives and libraries, grasping at even the most slender leads. Theo has apprenticed himself to an explorer in order to follow those leads across the country—but one after another proves to be a dead end.

Then Sophia discovers that a crucial piece of the puzzle exists in a foreign Age. At the same time, Theo discovers that his old life outside the law threatens to destroy the new one he has built with Sophia and her uncle Shadrack. What he and Sophia do not know is that their separate discoveries are intertwined, and that one remarkable person is part of both.

There is a city that holds all of the answers—but it cannot be found on any map. Surrounded by plague, it can only be reached by a journey through darkness and chaos, which is at the same time the plague’s cure: The Golden Specific.

After having loved the first book in this series with all my heart and soul, I was very excited to receive the sequel at the beginning of this year (YES, I read it that long ago and am only getting around to reviewing it now *le sigh*). It ended up being another great instalment that has only deepened my love for the world S.E. Grove has created.

Even though I didn't love it as much as I did the first one, I was still completely enthralled in the world building. I simply can't get over just how complex and utterly fantastic it is. It's just so damn interesting and I HAVE NO CLUE AS TO HOW S.E. GROVE MANAGED TO COME UP WITH IT! I loved that we continued meeting new characters as well and how different sub-plots were introduced. And that magical quality was still weaved into each page.

However, I did find it confusing at times simply because of how complex the whole story is in itself and even though it felt like a lot happened in this book just like the first, there just wasn't enough tied up from the previous book for my liking. However, there's only one more book coming out now in the series and I'm sure that'll do the job just fine!

Overall, another highly enjoyable and enthralling edition to The Mapmakers Trilogy. I'm really surprised it isn't more popular!

FOUR TOADSTOOLS TO THE GOLDEN SPECIFIC!

Huge thanks to the author and publishers for sending this to me! :D

Happy Reading,
Rachel xoxo

I NEED YOUR HELP: Uni Prep?

So I'm off to uni this year (September) to do English Literature and I was just wondering if anyone has any recommendations of books that would prepare me for the kinds of books I'll be reading for the course? Just cause I'd like to feel even just a little bit pre-prepared if you know what I'm saying. If anyone has even any kind of advice for me about the type of course I should be expecting or even just about how to survive uni in general, it'd be much appreciated as well. ^.^

I HOPE TO BE BACK TO BLOGGING PROPERLY SOON. STICK WITH ME.

Love you all.

Happy Reading,
Rachel xoxo

My Favourite Platonic Relationships!

Hey guys!

*tumbleweed drifts by*

YES, I've been AWOL again. I know, I know. But life. And exams. And everything else in between. I'm not really going to spend a lot of time trying to excuse the fact I've been disappearing lately. I hate being away for too long and feeling alienated from the blogosphere but life happens. And, in all honesty, I think I've been suffering from bloggers block as well. I don't know whether it's down to the fact I've been feeling a little excluded from the world of book blogging for quite some time now (and not because of any bloggers or anything, just in general) but I'm hoping to rediscover my love for blogging once again.

ANYWAYS. On to the post!

Today I'm going to be talking about some of my favourite platonic relationships in books. We all know how much romantic relationships can take over plotlines so, for a change, I thought I'd showcase some non-romantic relationships that really stood out to me.

Harry and Hermione

Harry Potter - J.K. Rowling

 

Of course I've got to have a classic. Whether in the books or movies, the relationship between Hermione and Harry really stood out to me. Especially the development of it over time. I just loved how close the pair were and how well they knew each other and their dynamic just generally made me smile (even if a secret part of me wouldn't have minded them being end game but... PLATONIC, Rachel, platonic).
 

Celaena and Rowan

Heir of Fire - Sarah J. Maas

 

This is probably my favourite platonic relationship to date. I absolutely love, love, LOVE the relationship between Celaena and Rowan. It's just perfect and I love how solidly it was built up over time and how the pair grew to love each other (in a platonic way of course). I just... gah, I love it so, so, so, so, SO much.

 

Cinder and Iko

Cinder - Marissa Meyer

 

Granted, I did read this a long time ago but I still, to this day, remember how much I loved Iko as a character as well as the relationship she shared with Cinder. It was certainly humorous at times and I loved the fact that Iko wasn't human yet so human-like in her relationship with Cinder.

 

Maya, Simon and Penny

Lost Island of Tamarind/Secrets of Tamarind - Nadia Aguiar

 

I really loved the sibling dynamic these three shared in both books and how protective they were of each other. Especially the way Maya looked out for her younger siblings in particular. To me, it just epitomised how siblings should act if they found themselves in that situation, and it was rather heart warming.  

 

The Virals

Virals series - Kathy Reichs

 

A friendship group which I truly adore. I just love all the different platonic dynamics between Tory and the three boys (even if one may be more romantic...) and the way they all act with each other. It's one of my favourite fictional friendship groups.

 

What are some of your favourite platonic relationships in books?

 

Happy Reading,

Rachel xoxo





April Wrap Up!

I feel like I've been rather absent from the blogging world this month. I had to sit a bundle of compulsory tests in the last week of school (they seemed never ending!) and Scotland was also blasted with a lot of sun at one point so I was constantly out and about with friends. I also had my last day of school ever, ever, ever - which is a pretty monumental milestone - and I will be waving goodbye to it very shortly - after exams and the like.

On another note, I did get to read a few books this month.

 

The Golden Specific (The Mapmaker's Trilogy #2) by S.E. Grove - 4 stars | The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis - 4 stars | Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard - 4 stars | The Jewel by Amy Ewing - 3 stars | Salt & Stone (Fire and Flood #2) by Victoria Scott - 4 stars

 

I'm quite happy about the number of books I managed to get through in April, though it's not the usual number. I can't really decide on a favourite, though - I enjoyed a lot of different aspects in each book.

 

I only reviewed one book this month and that was Sophomore Year is Greek to Me by Meredith Zeitlin (you can read the review HERE). I also created an original tag which I'm pretty proud of and would love for you to do on your own blog (HERE), talked about my feelings for Dominic Sherwood being cast as Jace in the Shadowhunters TV show (HERE) and talked about my highly anticipated May releases (HERE).

How was April to you?

Happy Reading,
Rachel xoxo