Wishlist #6

1. Ladybug & Flower Tea cup, Saucer & Spoon ~ $27.99

2. "On the Patrol" Harry Potter Sticker ~ $2.30

3. Cute Bunnyclub Hand Painted Brooch ~ $35.00

4. Rainbow Dash Hooded Onesie ~ $39.99

5. Spook's Revenge by Joseph Delaney ~ $14.33

1. I love drinking tea and this is gorgeous, There's so much detail and is a lovely collectible.

2. How cute are these Harry Potter stickers! You can also get this design on a t-shirt.

3. Who wouldn't want to be a part of the cute bunnyclub. I know I would and would be proud to wear this brooch.

4. OMG! This onesie is awesome and I want it so badly! I would never get out of it haha.

5. This is the final book in a series that I have enjoyed a lot. It'll be sad to finish such a great series.

What's on your wishlist?

Epic storytelling at it's best!

Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke & Bone #1) by Laini Taylor

Rating: 5 out of 5 hearts

418 pages

Released: September 2011

Buy it @ book depository

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real, she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands", she speaks many languages - not all of them human - and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When beautiful, haunted Akiva fixes fiery eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

 

Review

What can I say that hasn't already been said? This is so beautifully written, I read it in about 3 sittings which could've been less but unfortunately I had to sleep and work. Laini Taylor has given a whole different take on the old fashioned feud between good and evil - Angels & demons.

Karou was such an interesting character, how can you not love someone with blue hair and able to kick anyone's butt with her mad fighting skills. She is a girl with lots of secrets, but there are also a lot of secrets going on that she doesn't know about. There's a lot of mystery shrouding Karou's birth and where she comes from. It was written really well and kept me guessing until everything was revealed.

I LOVED the backdrop of Prague - I felt like I have travelled there by the amazing way Taylor described all the different places. Anyone who has been there before may feel like they are reliving some of their moments there (sadly I've never been).

There's a bit of a cliffhanger at the end, so I have already reserved the next book at the library, The third book comes out in April next year (2014) so I won't have to wait too long to finish the trilogy -  thankfully! I'm glad I finally got round to reading this because it has lived up to all my expectations, maybe even surpassed my expectations.

On the cover

This is the cover I'm most used to seeing on the Internet, which I think is so awesome!! But I haven't actually seen it in person. I always wondered why the mask is blue but after reading I know. There are two other covers floating around that I've actually seen which is the one above and another one that looks like it has a door on the cover. All of these covers mean something to the story but I like the one of the left the best.

What I'm reading next: The Perks of being a wallflower by Stephen Chboskyc

Fruity Nails

I saw these kawaii fruit nails by Nancy Mc, check out her picture. I thought why not try to re-create them. Mine didn't come out anywhere near as cute as hers, but hey I was happy! I think I like the apple and banana the best.

These were very difficult to paint as I didn't really have the best tools for the job. My nails aren't all that long and they are thin, so there's not a lot of room for painting the fruit.

Which fruity finger do you like best? 

Take me down the Jelicoe road anytime

On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

Rating: 4 out of 5 hearts

300 pages

Released: August 2006

Buy it @ Angus & Robertson

Abandoned by her mother on Jellicoe Road when she was eleven, Taylor Markham 17, finally confronts her past. Hannah, the closest adult she has to family, disappears. Jonah Griggs, moody stares and all, is back in town. If Taylor can put together the pieces of her past, she might just be able to change her future.

Review

Melina Marchetta has this way of drawing a reader in and making them fall head over heels in love with her characters. I don't know how she does it! Her books always seem to start off confusing, this one wasn't any different, and before you know it you're sucked right into the story like nothing else in the real world matters. I was almost halfway through and was going to give up on this because it was just too confusing, but I went on because I have read so many good review, and oh my I'm am SO glad I kept going!

Marchetta's characters feel so real, by the end of the book I feel like I know them and could text them to catch up and hang out. It's hard to tell you exactly what was going on in this book, so all I will say is read this NOW! Or you could wait until the movie is released, there's no knowing when it will come out so you should just read it. My only problem with books being adapted into a movie is that I hope they can capture the chemistry between all the characters.

My only issue with this book (other than the confusing beginning, which made sense by the end) was the mystery behind Taylor's background and who her father was. I slowly guessed what was going on, which if you've read my reviews before you will know I hate when I guess things before they are revealed. But Marchetta was good at keeping little things secret and didn't reveal until later, so she kept me guessing a bit. Because of those small faults I give this 4 stars. I am now a huge fan of Melina Marcetta and I look forward to seeing what she comes up with next!

On the cover

I love this cover, it's so vibrant and suits the story perfectly. I'm assuming that's the Jellicoe road and the faded person could be Taylor because she is stuck here but also in the past.

What I'm listening to next: The lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

More Jelly Sandwich Nail Art

I absolutely love to do Jelly Sandwich nails, they are so cool looking and so simple! If you'r unsure about how to do it then check out my previous post on it to get an idea. Now that you've done that here are my newest Jelly Sandwich creations.

Base colour: Essence Colour & Go - Sweet as Candy
Glitter:Models Prefer - All That Glitters

Base colour: Essence Colour & Go - Sweet as Candy
Glitter: Nicole by OPI - Spring Romance

Base colour: Essence Nude Glam - Cotton Candy
Glitter: Australis - Fairy Bread

Base colour: Essence Nude Glam - Cotton Candy
Glitter: Australis - Glitter Strikes Back

Which one do you like best?

Some girls are witches with a capital 'B'

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

Rating: 3 out of 5 hearts

246 pages

Released: January 2010

Buy it @ book depository

Climbing to the top of the social ladder is hard—falling from it is even harder.  Regina Afton used to be a member of the Fearsome Fivesome, an all-girl clique both feared and revered by the students at Hallowell High... until vicious rumors about her and her best friend's boyfriend start going around.  Now Regina's been "frozen out" and her ex-best friends are out for revenge.  If Regina was guilty, it would be one thing, but the rumors are far from the terrifying truth and the bullying is getting more intense by the day.  She takes solace in the company of Michael Hayden, a misfit with a tragic past who she herself used to bully.  Friendship doesn't come easily for these onetime enemies, and as Regina works hard to make amends for her past, she realizes Michael could be more than just a friend... if threats from the Fearsome Foursome don't break them both first.

Tensions grow and the abuse worsens as the final days of senior year march toward an explosive conclusion in this dark new tale

Review

Wow! What a bunch of cruel girls. A friend recommended this book to me a while ago, so I thought I should give it a go. Well after listening for only a short amount of time I realised what kind of book this is. Most people during their time at school have faced bullying or been a bully, I know I have! Years 8 & 9 at high school were some of the worst years of my life. So this book brought back some bad memories. I don't know why I kept reading, I think it's because I wanted to know what was going to happen next. It was a little like a train wreck where you can't look away. I also think it's because I wanted to see if the girls would realise what they've done and feel some sort of remorse for it. Unfortunately that never happened.

Listening to this it felt very much like the movie "Mean Girls" but 10 times worse mean pranks and no humor at all! The story is about a popular group of girls and one girl from the group is ostracized by the rest because of a rumor that was spread, even though we know the truth and it is horrible. Through the whole book the popular group are making the main character, Regina's life a living hell. Regina does get a bit back though, but after all of this I don't know if the girls really learnt a lesson in realising to take responsibility for there actions.

It's very hard to rate a book that you didn't particularly like the characters or like the story but I guess that's the whole point to this story to make you dislike the characters etc, so actually the author has done her job well. Because of this reason and also it was written so well, I decided to give it 3 stars because it deserves it but not 4 in my eyes. Even saying that I will definitely pick up and read any other books I find by Courtney Summers because I think she has a fantastic way of writing about something that feels so real and everyone can relate to.

On the cover

I wouldn't pick up this book based on this cover, I like the bright red locker but it's not that exciting in my opinion. But after reading this though if I see any book written by Courtney Summers I will definitely pick it up.

What I'm listening to next: On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

Happy Cucpcake Nails

A while back I saw these adorable nails by The Crafty Ninja and thought they would be awesome to re-create. Check out her post to see how she did hers and see how I did mine below.

They weren't as difficult as I thought they would be, but I found that my black nail polish was getting a bit stringy so that ruined my middle finger's eyes.

Other than that, I loved trying to re-create them and putting my own spin on them.
I even posed with one of my cute cupcake lolly jars - very kawaii!

Have you been inspired by someone else's nailart and tried to re-create it? 

I'd love to see yours