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March Favourites

So, somehow another month has passed by which means it’s time for another monthly favourites!
I was so busy in February that I completely forgot to do a favourites and when I did, it was already March.. so here’s a March Favourites instead!
I am going to save the blabbing this time and just get stuck right into it.

So let’s dive in..
My first favourite of the month of March certainly has to be Netflix. I have finally re-entered the fabulous world of Netflix and wowie, there are so many incredible shows for me to catch up on! There is nothing better than jumping into bed early to catch up on Netflix and munching on way too many Minstrels! I have written a post on What I’m Looking Forward to on Netflix 2017 (This might feature 13 Reasons Why – which is another monthly favourite for me! Hype hype!) for you all to check out, if you need some inspiration!

I was so fortunate to attend a Netflix Event in Cardiff last month, where there was a Netflix-filled apartment and we got shown all of the latest releases coming for 2017. Here is a link to that post, incase you want to give it a read: My Time at the Netflix Apartment.

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My first favourite of March has to be the Nyx Brow Gel in the shade ‘Chocolate’ (seen in the photo above). Seriously, it is pretty tough to rub these bad boys off whilst I have this brow gel on my eyebrows! I was looking for a product that doesn’t wipe away easily like pencil or sometimes powder (I also have psoriasis, so I tend to scratch pretty often) and this product works a treat.
I apply this brow gel with an angled eyebrow brush from Real Techniques, I try not to apply too much as they can go a little too bold and dark for my face but if I apply carefully, they go with my hair colour pretty well.

You can purchase this from select Boots stores, so here is a link to the website for you to browse. I will most probably do an eyebrow tutorial on my blog using this product for you all soon! Let me know what you think about that.

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My second favourite of the month has to be ‘Dear Amy’ by Helen Callaghan which I am currently reading. I haven’t finished it yet, but the storyline is so good and I got completely hooked on just the blurb which is just here:

“Would you risk your life to save a stranger? 
Discover what happens next in the Sunday Times bestselling psychological thriller, Dear Amy . . .

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A local schoolgirl has been missing for weeks when Margot Lewis, agony aunt of the ‘Dear Amy’ advice column, receives a letter:

Dear Amy,

I’ve been kidnapped by a strange man. 
I don’t know where I am. 

Please help me,
Bethan Avery

This must be a hoax. Because Bethan Avery is another young girl, who went missing twenty years ago.

As more letters arrive, Margot becomes consumed by finding the sender and – unlike the police – convinced that the girls’ disappearances are connected.

Solving this puzzle could save someone’s life – but could it also cost Margot her own?”

You can purchase this book from Amazon now!

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My third favourite is Bath and Body Works ‘Twisted Peppermint’ foaming hand wash which is a Christmas Fragrance. I absolutely adore Bath and Body Works and I am so, so, so sad that there isn’t one in the UK (although, if there was, it would probably be expensive..) so when I go to America I go a little crazy on the hand soaps and antibacterials! I cannot get enough of them!

I was super excited as I have heard about the Christmas Fragrances that come out obviously over the Christmas period, but I have never been in America late enough for them to be released, so this Christmas I found them and I was super excited!
Unfortunately, I really wanted the Body Mist of this as it was really gorgeous but it was sold out completely in the store I went to and could not get my hands on it! Damn!

Anyway, this foaming hand wash is incredible. It has such a strong and lost lasting scent that stays on your hands afterwards and the bottle lasts ages too! (I went a little crazy using this, although I knew I’d regret it when it’s all gone..)
I would highly recommend these products and if you haven’t heard of Bath and Body Works then definitely give them a browse – there’s no doubt that you won’t find something that you will fall in love with!

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I have also been loving The Library of Fragrance‘s scent in ‘Honeysuckle’. I purchased this from Boots for £10 (usually £15) with my Advantage Card points to treat myself and my, my, my.. this genuinely smells like actual flowers! Although, my boyfriend just comments ‘You smell like a bee’ (whatever a bee smells like.. but y’ano).
This company have so many different fragrances from Cinnamon, Marshmallow, Mint Ice Cream, Fresh Laundry and even Play-Doh.. that’s right, Play-Doh.. yummy?..

You can even mix and match scents, and they have a page that tells you which scents compliment each other whether you want to go warm, musky, bright and refreshing..

I’ll leave a link to their website here and also check out the Boots website as either one of the sites usually have an offer on!

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So, that is all I have for my March Favourites at the moment. I hope you enjoyed and I would love to know what you have been loving this month too! Let me know down below!

Want to browse some more blog posts?

How I do Disney World on a Budget

My January Favourites

Review: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Review: The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

My Time at the Netflix Apartment

Bootlegger Cardiff Review

Girl Online: Going Solo by Zoe Sugg Review

I have finally got around to catching up on some well-needed reading! So I thought I definitely needed to read Youtuber, Zoe Sugg’s Girl Online: Going Solo!

Girl Online: Going Solo is the third book of the series. The Girl Online Series starts with Penny, she meets a lovely American guy, falls in love with him and it turns out that he’s actually famous..
From there throughout the series, there is a lot of drama with gossip, press, friends, lifestyle changes..
Penny has to learn the hard way on how to deal with things, especially her anxiety too.

I feel like this book can really help people with issues such as Mental Health as it really expresses how someone else feels from their perspective when struggling with anxiety. Although they aren’t all the same, I feel like it does show an insight into how to treat people, how to assist if possible and maybe even inspire people to look into Mental Health to research in general!

I have really enjoyed all of the books so far, but I feel like this one was probably my favourite! I won’t say too much as it’ll spoil the content but if you’re looking for an easy but interesting read then look no further!

In this book, there’s more drama, loyalty and trust issues and even more love to come!

Have you read any of the Girl Online series? Which one is your favourite so far?
Let me know!
Zoe
xx

Check out my review of Girl Online: On Tour!

Bridget Jones’s Baby by Helen Fielding Review

Well, what can I say? I was so delighted when I heard that there was going to be yet another Bridget Jones book!

As much as I was excited and enjoyed reading it.. it confused me a little.
Firstly, Daniel Cleaver was dead in the recent Bridget Jones’s Baby film, but in this book he is the possible father, along with Mark Darcy.. when in the film, they had an american millionaire. Why?

The book is about 75% of the recent film, but some scenarios are slightly different or have a different location! For example, when Bridget first tells Mark Darcy about the baby, it is sort of just blurted out early on..

Don’t get me wrong, I adored reading this but I am just confused to why certain bits are in the books, then the film is different? Then people are dead, then alive? Then don’t exist?

I’m still a little confused 🙂

I would definitely say to give it a read if you enjoyed the recent film, and feel free to let me know what you thought about the book! I would love to hear your opinions on this!

Zoe
xx

Bridget Jones's Baby by Helen Fielding Review

Well, what can I say? I was so delighted when I heard that there was going to be yet another Bridget Jones book!

As much as I was excited and enjoyed reading it.. it confused me a little.
Firstly, Daniel Cleaver was dead in the recent Bridget Jones’s Baby film, but in this book he is the possible father, along with Mark Darcy.. when in the film, they had an american millionaire. Why?

The book is about 75% of the recent film, but some scenarios are slightly different or have a different location! For example, when Bridget first tells Mark Darcy about the baby, it is sort of just blurted out early on..

Don’t get me wrong, I adored reading this but I am just confused to why certain bits are in the books, then the film is different? Then people are dead, then alive? Then don’t exist?

I’m still a little confused 🙂

I would definitely say to give it a read if you enjoyed the recent film, and feel free to let me know what you thought about the book! I would love to hear your opinions on this!

Zoe
xx

Review: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes Book

*For some reason, I hadn’t posted this.. from six months ago..*

Title: Me Before You

Author: Jojo Moyes

Purchase: Available in the UK and preorder for the US.

Overall Rating: 5/5

Great For: Romance

Themes: Disability, Romance, Strength, Emotion

Review: WOW. Yes, that is going to be the first word of this review. WOW…
Basically, I have seen this book floating around on Goodreads and YouTube, but I was a very bad person and judged a book by it’s cover.. I expected this book to just be one of those stereotypical romance novels that are all pretty similar.
I was wrong! Lesson learnt.

It turns out that I saw the trailer for the upcoming film adaptation of this book and I watched it half way through and decided that I need to read this book urgently – so I stopped the trailer to save it from spoiling the book for me and off I went!

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This book just blew me away completely, it was such a great, captivating story but also so so sad at the same time.

To give you a quick little feel of this book: A man called Will (about 30-35 years old, I believe) has been in an accident and has become Paraplegic, he cannot move any parts of his body apart from his head and the tips of his fingers. He is miserable and feels like he’s just completely lost in life. It turns out that a woman (Lou) really needs a job and takes up a ‘carer’ job as she desperately needs the money. She looks after Will, has a very hard time at first as he acts quite rudely and blunt to her, making it even more difficult but eventually he opens up to her, which he hasn’t done with any other carers in the past!
That is all that I will leave you with, as there is so much more to the story but I do not want to spoil it for you all!

UPDATE: I have read the sequel ‘Me After You’ and yep, you’ve guessed it right – I cried through this one too! Click here to read my review.

Have any of you read this? How much did you love it? I haven’t heard one bad thing about this book at all – everybody on Goodreads told me that it was incredible from the start!
Have you seen the film adaptation? Let me know.

Check out my other book reviews:

The Trap by Alan Gibbons

Girl Online: Going Solo by Zoe Sugg (Zoella)

A Quiet Kind Of Thunder by Sara Barnard

The Movie Version by Emma Wunsch

Harry Potter and The Cursed Child Book Review!

Title: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Author: J.K. Rowling

Purchase: Available in the UK and US.

Overall Rating: 4/5

Great For: Who doesn’t love Harry Potter?

Themes: Magic, Battles, History, Family

Review: That’s right, the wait is finally over!
It was safe to say that I was waiting for the Amazon delivery man to arrive and I ended up finishing the book within hours. I couldn’t put it down!

So, this new novel is based on the new play ‘Harry Potter and The Cursed Child’ and is about Harry, his two sons and a daughter. They are off to Hogwarts to start their new adventure but they notice strange things going on with their son Albus..
Will we see people from the past? More encounters? Love? Death? You’ll have to wait and see for yourself.

And I’m not going to say anything else about the storyline, but there’s a lot of back and forth in the story and it is also written in a script format. I wasn’t too sure about this at first and I’m still not too sure, to be honest..
I found it a little difficult to keep up with each character (past, present, future) but I got there in the end!

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I really enjoyed this though and I cannot wait for some more Harry Potter related goodness! Sadly I haven’t got tickets for the play yet but I would absolutely love to see it, especially after reading this!

This book definitely brings back all of the ‘Harry Potter feels’ from the past novels and you won’t be disappointed 🙂

What is your favourite Harry Potter book and why?

Check out my other book reviews:

The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

The Trap by Alan Gibbons

Girl Online: Going Solo by Zoe Sugg (Zoella)

A Quiet Kind Of Thunder by Sara Barnard

The Movie Version by Emma Wunsch

 

A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond Review

Title: A Bear Called Paddington

Author: Michael Bond

Purchase: Available in the UK

Overall Rating: 5/5

Great For: Children, Families, Rekindling Childhood Memories

Themes: Adventures, Family, Values

Review: I absolutely adored this book when I was younger and have always been a Paddington Bear fan. I thought that I would pick up this book again on Amazon for £3.49 Kindle Edition and give it a good, nostalgic read!

If you do not know who Paddington Bear is, he is a bar from Peru that travelled to London, United Kingdom. He was found at Paddington Station and that was where he got his name from. In this book, you will follow him on his adventures of finding a family, discovering new experiences and many more..

It didn’t disappoint. I still had the same warm feeling that I had when I was younger reading this. The familiarity is great and it has made me realise how well the recent film was made too – they stuck to some of the exact stories and it just worked so well!
This book is great for all ages, especially kids as it isn’t one whole story in itself. It is a compilation of short stories featuring Paddington and the Brown family.

I feel like I cannot say any additional information on this, it really is a ‘you have to read it’ kind of book and most of you have probably read this throughout your childhood.

Did you use to read this when you were younger?
Would you give them another read now?
How did you feel about the film?

Check out my other book reviews:

The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

The Trap by Alan Gibbons

Girl Online: Going Solo by Zoe Sugg (Zoella)

A Quiet Kind Of Thunder by Sara Barnard

The Movie Version by Emma Wunsch

 

Review: The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins

Title: The Girl on the Train

Author: Paula Hawkins

Purchase: Available in the UK and US

Overall Rating: 5/5

Great For: People that love Mystery and Crime novels

Themes: Mystery, Crime, Thriller, Murder

Review: I had no idea what this book was about when I picked it up and started reading it. I assumed that it had something to do with a killer, and maybe some creepy girl that stalked someone on the train every single day. I literally thought it was going to be a thriller book, with a possible zombie, creepy girl on the train.

It wasn’t. It was similar along those lines though..
It is basically about a girl that sits on the same train, at the same time every morning, in the same seat. She looks out of the window at the same house, every single day and sees it’s occupants. She decides to use her imagination to create a life for this couple, but boy, her imagination was completely wrong compared to the reality.
It turns out that this woman has gone missing, and that’s where the story mainly starts from.

It is a really great book, full of turns and twists throughout the book and it was just so capturing.
I had no idea who the killer was, right up until the end where they revealed it. No idea.

I have read that they are making this book into a film adaptation too, next year? (Or possibly now even this year?) and I think that this is such a great idea! Emma Blunt is going to be starring in this and I think that it all seems the perfect fit, so far.

I would highly recommend this book and I can see why there was loads of hype around it. I’m not sure if I would hype about it as much as others have, but it was still a really great book with similarities to Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.

If you want a gripping, chilling but interesting read then definitely go for this!
Have you read this book? Are you looking forward to the film adaptation?
Let me know.


Check out my other book reviews:

The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

The Trap by Alan Gibbons

Girl Online: Going Solo by Zoe Sugg (Zoella)

A Quiet Kind Of Thunder by Sara Barnard

The Movie Version by Emma Wunsch

 

Review: Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Title: Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children

Author: Ransom Riggs

Purchase: Available in the UK and the US.

Overall Rating: 4/5

Great For: Young Adult, Fans of Thrillers

Themes: Death, Supernatural, History

Review: Ok, so I have heard a lot of hype around this book (& now the series) and I wasn’t too sure what I was going to think about this..
I actually loved this book! I was surprised at how drawn in I was to this, from the moment I started reading – I could not put it down! I ended up reading it in 2 days and it did not disappoint at any point.

Now I am looking forward to reading the second and third (and then wait for the film to come out!).
Another great little detail about this book, is that it is set in Wales – represent!

If you haven’t read this book yet, it is about a small home in North Wales where ‘Peculiar Children’ stay. They are all different, some have powers, some have odd appearances but there is a reason why they are kept away and there is a big twist but I feel like I cannot say, as it will pretty much ruin the whole book!

I would definitely recommend picking up this book, and I have heard that Tim Burton is going to be directing the film, if I think correctly?

Have you read this or the series? Show me your love or hate for this!

Check out my other book reviews:

The Trap by Alan Gibbons

Girl Online: Going Solo by Zoe Sugg (Zoella)

A Quiet Kind Of Thunder by Sara Barnard

The Movie Version by Emma Wunsch

 

Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Ok, so I have heard a lot of hype around this book (& now the series) and I wasn’t too sure what I was going to think about this.
I actually loved this book! I was surprised at how drawn in I was to this, from the moment I started reading – I could not put it down! I ended up reading it in 2 days and it did not disappoint at any point.

Now I am looking forward to reading the second and third (and then wait for the film to come out!).
Another great little detail about this book, is that it is set in Walesrepresent!

If you haven’t read this book yet, it is about a small home in North Wales where ‘Peculiar Children’ stay. They are all different, some have powers, some have odd appearances but there is a reason why they are kept away and there is a big twist but I feel like I cannot say, as it will pretty much ruin the whole book!

I would definitely recommend picking up this book, and I have heard that Tim Burton is going to be directing the film, if I think correctly?

Have you read this or the series? Show me your love or hate for this!
xx

You can purchase these from Amazon, here:
First Book: HERE
Second Book: HERE
Third Book: HERE