6 Halloween Movie Recommendations

Hi guys! Halloween is only a few days away and so, today, I thought I would share with you some of the movies I love to watch at this time of the year. Halloween is my second favorite holiday, right after Christmas, but while the day itself is one of my favorite things in the year, anticipating Halloween is also part of the fun. And what better way to count the days till Halloween than to watch some spooky movies? 

I need to preface this though by pointing out that none of my recommendations are actual horror movies. I don't watch horror stuff. I'm too much of a scaredy cat for that. And the darker movies in this list lean more towards gothic than actual horror, so if like me you also don't really dig horror movies, these should suit you just fine. 

And now, onto the movies. Enjoy!

Practical Magic

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Sally and Gillian Owens, played by Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, come from a family of witches. As if that wasn’t crazy enough, for years the women of their family have been plagued by a curse, whereby all the men they fall in love with come to eventually meet an untimely death. Despite growing up to lead completely different lives, the sisters are as close as ever and when supernatural forces start wreaking havoc in their lives, they decide to join their powers and rid their family of the curse. This movie is perfect for Halloween because not only does it have witches and magic, but it also has at its heart a lot of humor. And for me, fantasy-comedies are the best Halloween movies ^^

Watch the trailer here.

Hocus Pocus

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Starring Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker as a trio of evil witches, the movie follows their adventures as they are accidentally resurrected by a young boy after they were put to death in Salem centuries ago. This movie is hilarious and still great fun to watch now despite having been released in 1993. 

Watch the trailer here.

Halloweentown

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Marnie, played by Kimberly J. Brown, loves everything about Halloween and the supernatural, despite her mother disapproving of it all. When her grandmother Aggie, who is in fact a real witch, shows up on the night of Halloween, she tells Marnie and her siblings the story of a magical place called Halloweentown, where all sorts of fantastical creatures live together in peace. When the children secretly follow Aggie back home after she leaves their house, they stumble right into Halloweentown, which turns out to be very real. If you enjoy the movie - and you probably will - be sure to also check out the sequels!

Watch the trailer here.

The Phantom of the Opera

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Starring Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum in the lead roles, this is the movie adaptation of a musical which was itself based on a French novel. It is 19th century Paris and the story takes place at an opera house rumored to be haunted by a mysterious masked Phantom. After he takes an interest in a young performer, Christine Daaé, the Phantom begins to scheme to give her the lead role in the opera, hoping to also win her love in the process. When Christine instead falls in love with someone else, the Phantom decides to do whatever it takes to make Christine his. The movie retains most songs from the musical, which is one of my favorite musicals by the way, and has the right amount of mystery mixed in with romance and gorgeous visuals to make this a delightful movie to watch in October. Plus Gerard Butler is in it. Enough said...

Watch the trailer here.

Scooby-Doo

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Back to comedy with this movie starring Freddie Prinze, Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Linda Cardellini, Matthew Lillard and Rowan Atkinson. The story follows Mystery Incorporated, a group of four young detectives who solve mysteries with their dog Scooby-Doo. After going separate ways two years ago, the group reunites after they are called to a horror resort to solve a mystery there. This movie was a staple of my childhood growing up and one of those movies that I watched all the time with my sister. It’s a guilty pleasure and one of those goofy, fun movies that totally lives up to the spirit of Halloween.

Watch the trailer here.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

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Set in Victorian times, this is the story of Sweeney Todd, a barber turned serial killer who returns to the city after being wrongfully arrested and exiled many years ago. On a quest of vengeance, he takes his old job as a barber back and begins killing off his customers with a razor while his new accomplice, Mrs. Lovett, helps him get rid of the corpses by baking them into the meat pies she sells in her shop. It has Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter in the lead roles and while it’s much more violent than the other movies on this list, it’s more a gothic story than a horror one. Plus, it has the songs that featured in the musical it was adapted from and is overall quite a stunning film. 

Watch the trailer here.

So those were some of my Halloween movie recommendations. I know there are a lot of classics I haven't mentioned, like Beetlejuice and the Addams Family, but that's because I haven't watched those yet. I do have a list of Halloween movies I still need to watch so expect a second part to this post at some point!

Until next time guys, have fun counting the days till Halloween ^^

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Upcoming book releases I'm excited for!

Hi guys ^^ October is here and we've reached that time of the year where a lot of exciting things are soon happening. Halloween, Christmas and of course, more great book releases!

Seriously, October till December is my favorite part of the year (apart from February, which is my birthday month hehe). I'm that girl who gets super excited for both Halloween and Christmas. I mean, you get to decorate stuff and splurge on festive candy and food. Plus I love making holiday themed TBRs as well as music playlists, DIYs and lists of related movies I want to watch. It's all lots of fun, you know? So yeah, we're now officially in my favorite part of the year and I couldn't be more excited for all the upcoming fun ^^

So in this post, I thought I would share with you some of the upcoming books I'm most excited for. Here we go ^^

Heartless by Marissa Meyer 

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Catherine, unmarried and desired by many in Wonderland, is a favorite of the King of Hearts. Her passion though is baking and her dream is to open a pastry shop. Her mother though is utterly against it as she deems it unworthy of a girl who could be the next Queen. At a royal ball where Catherine is expected to receive a marriage proposal from the king, she meets Jest, the handsome and mysterious court joker and for the first time in her life, she feels the beginning of real love. Going against her parents' wishes and running the risk to offend the King, Catherine begins to see Jest in secret.

Release date: 8th November 

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo (Six of Crows # 2)

For this one I'm not going to include a synopsis simply because I haven't actually read the first book in the series yet and checking out what the sequel is about would spoil it for me XD. In Six of Crows though, which takes place in the same universe as Bardugo's Grisha Trilogy, we follow the story of the criminal Kaz as he sets out to carry out a heist which is as dangerous as it could be rewarding. Since he's unable to pull it off alone, he decides to recruit a crew of fellow brilliant criminals to assist him. I have Six of Crows but but haven't read it yet as I've been waiting for the sequel to come out so that I can marathon them both ^^

Release date: 27th September

Gemina by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman (The Illuminae Files #2)

Again, since this is a sequel, I'm going to keep its synopsis vague. This is a continuation of Illuminae, which follows the crew of a spaceship that carries the survivors of a small planet that undergoes a massive attack at the beginning of the story. The ship is fleeing the forces that attacked the planet and which are now after them to exterminate them as well. As if that wasn't bad enough, the ship's artificial intelligence begins to malfunction in ways that gradually gets more and more lethal for the crew. When a dangerous virus outbreak hits them as well though, the death toll on board seriously begins to rise... I really loved Illuminae. It was so much fun and as some of you might already know, rather than be written like your average novel, the book is presented in the form of files, instant messages, video transcripts, etc.

Release date: 18th October

Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, Maureen Johnson and Robin Wasserman

This is a collection of short stories set in the Shadowhunter world, taking place after the Mortal Instrument series and before the sequel series the Dark Artifices. The stories were originally individually published in eBook form before the release of Lady Midnight, the first book in the Dark Artifices. Since I didn’t want to read Lady Midnight before reading those stories and since I wanted to read the upcoming bind-up instead of the individual stories, I’ve been highly anticipating this book. The main reason is that now, as soon as I buy it, I can finally get myself a copy of Lady Midnight and read it! So it’s actually both of them that I’m excited to get my hands on in November ^^

Release date: 15th November

So those were some of my most anticipated book releases in the last months of 2016. What book release are you most looking forward to? Let me know in the comments ^^

My previous post: What I'm Currently Reading

My next post: The Autumn Reading Tag

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What I'm currently reading

Hi guys! I'm finally back with a new blog post... yeh ^^ Seriously, I missed the blog so much this past month! But I couldn't really help it either. I just had too much university work to do to be able to focus on the blog. Honestly, it's not just the blogging that had to take a back burner, but my reading as well. So yeah, I really missed the blog as well as my books this past month... Not to mention you guys ^^

And so, today, I thought I would ease back into blogging with a simple enough post. So here are all the things that I'm currently reading!

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

I've just been in a mood for children classics lately and this is one of my latest purchases. It's also a book that I'm thoroughly enjoying so far. In fact, I highly recommend you give this one a go. If you're not familiar with Dodie Smith, she's also the author of the 101 Dalmatians, the same book that inspired the Disney movies. Also, this Vintage Classics edition of the book is just beautiful.

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The story is narrated by a young girl, Cassandra, as she writes a diary recollecting what's going on in her life. Her father, who published a best-selling book years ago and who has since never written anything, now just stays at home and read detective stories. Her beautiful elder sister, Rose, is desperate to get married just to escape their wretched life. Topaz, their father's second wife and their artistic stepmother occasionally goes to commune with nature wearing only her wellington boots. This unusual family lives in an old, crumbling castle. Once their father had purchased it with views to renovate it. But with the money from the book earnings gone, they have since then sunk into deep poverty. One day though, new neighbors from America, two young and rich brothers, show up in their little town and very soon, all their lives begin to change.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

I've been slowly savouring this one, like one savours a box of chocolates. I read this when I'm waiting for class to start since I'm always a bit early. My edition, which is in French, is very light and floppy, which makes carrying it around on campus easy. I've been reading a little of it before each class but now I'm almost done with it, which honestly makes me a bit sad.

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The mysterious and eccentric chocolate maker Willy Wonka has decided to invite 5 children to explore his fantastical factory. Five Golden Tickets have been hidden in his Wonka bars and the children need to find those to be allowed inside the factory. Charlie Bucket comes from a very poor family and so, never expected to get any chocolate at all, much less one with one of the Golden Tickets. However, after an unexpected turn of events, Charlie manages to buy two Wonka bars and upon opening the second, he finds a glimmer of gold under the wrapping…

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

I started reading this in July and while it's really good, it's also quite the slow read. Usually I'm fine with Murakami's slow pacing but picking this book in the middle of the assignment period was not a very good idea. I read almost half of it but haven't picked it up in a while. I do plan to continue with it soon though.

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Toru Okada's cat has disappeared, his wife is growing more distant every day and he’s been getting mysterious, unsettling phone calls. As the story unfolds, Toru embarks on a strange journey, full of new acquaintances who each have a story to tell. This is a typical magical realism novel by Murakami, which is best enjoyed by going into it without knowing too much. Not to mention that no synopsis would ever do justice to the weird and amazing plot of this book.

The Child Thief by Brom

In the past year, I've realized that I've developed a soft spot for Peter Pan retellings. They don't even have to be the best books ever written. So long they are fun, I want to read them. So when I heard of this book, which is often described as a dark retelling of Peter Pan, I knew I had to read it. I've read about 40% of it and so far I'm really enjoying it. However, I was reading it around the time I had to return to Malaysia from my semester break, which I spent back home in Mauritius, and in between traveling and moving back into the dorm and beginning the second semester, I kind of stopped reading Child Thief. I want to go back to reading it soon though. Hopefully next month I'll pick it up again!

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When the charismatic and mysterious Peter saves him from a bunch of drug dealers who’ve been preying on his family, Nick believes he’s finally found a friend in the midst of his wretched, miserable life. When Peter asks him if he wants to join him in a land full of faeries and monsters, Nick thinks his new friend is just kidding and plays along in what he thinks is just a joke. Soon, Nick finds himself trapped in this land which is not only very real, but also very dangerous. As he’s unwittingly dragged into a centuries old war, the story of Peter’s dark past is slowly revealed.

The Enchanted Wood by Enid Blyton

This one I was listening to on audiobook while working on assignments. I loved the Magic Faraway Tree series as a kid and this is the first book in the series. It's still as enjoyable as I remember it being many years ago. I just need to start listening to it again where I left off, especially since it's narrated by Kate Winslet, who did an amazing job with it.

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Jo, Bessie and Fanny’s family have just moved in a new home in the countryside. One day, after exploring the surroundings, the children come across a magical tree that grows in what they soon find is called the Enchanted Wood. The children thus go on many adventures together, meeting the magical residents of the tree along the way, and exploring the top of the tree where almost each day, a new land appears.

Watchmen by Alan Moore

During my break I was in the mood for watching movies and I ended up watching a lot of them, one of which was Watchmen. I know people have mixed feelings about it but I really enjoyed it. So afterwards, I thought I would give the original comics a go since I love reading graphic novels and comics. I've only read the first 2 issues and so far I'm enjoying it. I'm looking forward to reading the rest, as well as the prequel comics 'Before Watchmen'. 

In a world where superheroes are not only known to all, but have also been outlawed, one group of ex-superheroes are forced to face a world they once left forever when some of them begin to fall prey to a mysterious assassin. What follows next is a story as unique as it is riveting, bringing you a superhero story unlike anything you probably read before.

So that's it for today's post guys. What book or books are you currently reading? Let me known down in the comments ^^

My previous post: 10 Reasons Why You Should Read This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

My next post: Upcoming book releases I'm excited for!

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10 Reasons Why You Should Read This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

'10 Reasons Why You Should Read...' is a new feature here on the blog, in which I highlight the main reasons I loved a book rather than do a classic review of it. If a book is featured in this post, it means that I either gave it 4 or 5 stars, that I really enjoyed it and that I definitely recommend it.

So what's the book about?

In a world where acts of violence give birth to real monsters, nowhere is really safe. Kate Harker wants to be as ruthless as her father, the most powerful man in town, whose forces keep the monsters at bay, and who makes the humans pay for his protection. August Flynn wants nothing more than to be human, as kind-hearted as his father, the man leading the resistance against the monsters and Harker. However, August is one of the very monsters his world has fallen prey to. His is the ability to steal souls and all it takes is music. When violence suddenly forces Kate and August to cross paths, everything they thought they understand about themselves and their world begins to change.

10 reasons why I loved this book...

1. Great writing

I've read a few books by this author now and each time, aside from her unique stories and awesome characters, one thing that always shines through is the great writing. V.E. Schwab writes really well... and that's kind of an understatement! She just has a knack for coming up with the perfect descriptions to bring to life her characters and the scenes in the book in the best way possible.

2. Unique plot

While the dark, urban setting almost touches the boundaries of the dystopian genre, I wouldn't really call this book a 'typical' dystopian, simply because the world and story are both so unique. This is a world in which acts of violence have literally spawned monsters. And not the seductive supernatural bad boys we usually get in YA, but actual evil monsters. Frankly, I've never read a YA book like that and for me, This Savage Song is just a long anticipated fresh addition to the YA scene. I mean, this is a book about freaking monsters guys!!!

3. Unique characters

The book does an amazing job at avoiding usual character tropes by giving us unique and well-fleshed out characters unlike who we usually meet in YA. Aside from the main characters, which I'm getting to in a few minutes, the book had an amazing cast of secondary characters. August has two siblings, who are also monsters like him, and they were probably my favorite secondary characters. They were both so cool and unique and intrigued me almost as much as our main characters.

4. Awesome world building

Even though the setting is practically a dystopian one, the way the world is described is completely different from what you would actually expect from a dystopian. On one hand, the world closely resembles our own. The characters go to school like normal kids, the technology is almost the same as ours and the city where most of the story takes place is described like the cities in our own world. And yet, despite the seemingly normal setting, we have the supernatural aspect of the monsters, which add a darker, scarier element to this otherwise normal world. So yeah, this is definitely not your typical dystopian.

5. I loved both main POVs characters

Usually, in books with multiple POVs, there's one or a few that I tend to like more than the rest. This book was a rare case where both main POVs were equally enjoyable to me. August was my favorite character in the book though. There are more sides to his character than first meet the eye. At first he is quiet and introverted, making him adorable and relatable, but as we spend more time with him, we also discover a deeper depth to him. Beyond his quiet personality, August is also very brave and honest. And as you get to know him more, it is clear there is indeed a monster in him. Kate, our female lead, was a kick-ass and awesome character to follow. She was far from being invulnerable as some dystopian heroines are sometimes portrayed and her character was certainly a flawed one. And that's actually what made her POV such an interesting one.

6. No romance!

Throughout this book, Kate and August evolve from being almost accidental acquaintances to good friends and... they never fall in love. Yep guys! This is a YA book and it has no romance. Do I need to point out how refreshing this is??

7. It has monsters, the like you've never (probably) seen before

I'm not going to tell you what exactly these monsters are because it'll be more fun for you to meet them on your own. However, I will say that they were really unique and unlike anything I've seen so far in YA fantasy. Remember though that these are actual monsters. They don't sparkle, they don't fall in love with clueless teenagers. They actually prey on flesh and blood and they are amazing XD.

8. Cool backstory

Again, telling more about the actual backstory would ruin the book for you but I'll just say that the story behind how this book's world came to become like this and be home to real monsters is really cool. Overall, this book felt very refreshing in a genre that was kind of getting a little over-saturated with recurring fantasy and dystopian tropes.

9. The story flowed at a nice pace

The pacing in this book was perfection! There was never a dull moment in the book and the more I read, the less I felt like putting the book down. I almost read this book in a day because of how fast-paced and fun it was. But then it got like, 3 am and I just couldn't keep my eyes open anymore XD.  

10. Awesome ending

The ending guys!!! It's been a month since I read this book and the ending still gives me all the feels. I want to know what happens next dammit! I need a sequel. I need a bloody sequel! So yeah, I loved the ending ^^ For me, the book ended in the best way possible, leaving us with just enough cliffhangers to look forward to the sequel. And boy that'll be hard! I'm still kind of in denial that I have to wait an entire year for the sequel. Just sayin'.

So that's it for this post guys. Have you read this book or plan to do so? Let me know in the comments ^^

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July Wrap-Up

Hi guys ^^ So today I'm sharing with you all the books I read in July and what I thought about them. Overall, July was a nice reading month for me. I read a total of 8 books and in general, I enjoyed everything I read. Below I've ranked the books in the order I rated them, starting with ones I gave the lowest rating to till the ones I enjoyed most.

And as usual, this wrap-up is spoiler-free!

The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum - After a tornado whisks her aunt’s house out of Kansas, Dorothy suddenly finds herself into the strange land of Oz. There she meets new friends, the Tin Woodman, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion, and together they set out to find the mysterious Wizard of Oz, who is said to be powerful enough to grant wishes and send Dorothy back home.

I honestly thought the book was just okay. I didn't hate it or anything, but I'm not crazy about it either. I thought the characters were waaaay too nice XD. Especially, the sweet little Dorothy... Like, come on, no one is that nice, lol. But apart from that, overall the story was quite fun. Also, I actually listened to this one on audiobook and it was narrated by Brooke Shields, who did an awesome job with it. In fact, it's only because I loved Brooke Shields's narration so much that I ended up kind of enjoying the book. I don't think I'll be reading the rest of the Oz books though. 

My rating: 3 stars

If you want to give this book a go, I recommend listening to the audiobook narrated by Brooke Shields. She did such a great job with it!

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne - Set in an early Puritan New England colony, the story follows Hester Prynne, who is condemned to wear a scarlet letter A on her chest for having committed adultery and given birth to a child as a result. The story also follows Reverend Dimmesdale, a man tortured by a terrible secret and the vengeful Chillingworth, the man Hester was married to and who has now returned to the town after several years of absence.

So this is a classic I'd been meaning to read for the longest time. While I can appreciate its literary value, especially with regards to its social commentary and the time period when it was written, unfortunately I didn't ended up enjoying it as much as I thought I would. I found the book a little dry to be honest. Not much happened plotwise and I couldn't really connect with any of the characters. I do think this book is worth a read, but I don't see myself ever rereading it.

My rating: 3 stars

This is not a bad book by any means and I do think you should give it a try if the book interests you. However, there are a lot more classics out there that I enjoyed way more than this one.

Falling Kingdoms and Rebel Spring by Morgan Rhodes - In a world when magic is banned, four young people from different parts of the realm are brought together through violence and fate. In the kingdom in the south, privileged Princess Cleo finds her world turned upside down as she finds herself trying to save her dying sister while around them, their kingdom is readying for war. In another land, the young Jonas finds himself in the middle of a rebellion. And in the north, prince Magnus is trying to earn his father’s respect as he prepares himself to one day succeed him while his sister, Lucia discovers a terrifying secret about her heritage.

Firstly, I'd like to point out that this book is not the best literary work out there. There are a few tropes thrown in here and there and the writing wasn't anything that blew me away. However, I still fell completely in love with the series! The books are so fast paced and fun to read that you can't help keep turning the pages. I wasn't crazy about the characters in book 1 but they've been growing on me since book 2 and now I can't wait to read the rest of the series.

My rating: 3 stars for Falling Kingdoms & 4 stars for Rebel Spring

If you want a fun YA fantasy series which is as fast-paced as it's action packed, this series is for you! Plus, the series does improve with each book.

Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix - Strange things have been happening at the Orsk furniture superstore. With the security cameras revealing nothing and management at the brink of panic, some employees volunteer to stay after work hours to investigate. As they patrol empty showroom floors and follow strange sights and sounds to horrors beyond their imagination, they soon realize that they are not alone inside the store.

I’ve never had so much fun reading a horror story before! Plot-wise, you could say that it’s quite a straightforward ghost story. However, what sets this book apart from others in the genre is the setting of this fictional Ikea-like store. A furniture store after dark can be spooky as hell and the book makes the best use of its setting to convey the feeling of horror that hovers over the characters trapped in there. There’s never a dull moment in this book and although I wouldn’t say that this is the scariest book I’ve ever read, there were several places where it did seriously spook me out! Also, the design of this book is just great. The book is basically designed like an IKEA catalogue. Like, how cool is that? I wrote a full review of this book, which you can also check out here if you want.

My rating: 4 stars 

Do yourself a favor and pick this book up! You might not want to read it before going to bed though, haha.

Wildwood by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis - When Prue's baby brother is kidnapped by crows - yes, actual crows - she jumps on her bike and follows them inside a strange world known as Wildwood. In this strange land, a deposed ruler is amassing an army of coyotes to take her vengeance on those who ended her rule, some bandits are forming a rebellion and in the midst of it all, a terrible and powerful threat is about to be unleashed on all of Wildwood. Soon enough, Prue realizes that whether she wants it or not, her fate is now tied with the rest of the land's. 

I really, really enjoyed this book. It was like an old school children magical adventure full of fantastic settings, awesome descriptions and world building, great writing and lots of whimsical and interesting characters ranging from coyote soldiers to owl princes. The main characters were pretty cool and it was nice to follow each one's point of view and storyline. Plus, the book is illustrated and the artwork was just amazing. There are 2 more books in this series and I can't wait to dive into those as well.

My rating: 4 stars 

I highly, highly recommend this book. Reading it was such a magical experience!

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodges Burnett - After she is orphaned, Mary Lennox comes to live with her uncle in his great and mysterious house on the Yorkshire Moors. At first Mary is bored, with no one of her own age around to keep her company. One day though, Mary finds a key that leads to a secret garden where no one has been in years. As she begins to unravel the secrets of the house and this mysterious garden, Mary finds help in unexpected friends and together, they begin to restore the locked garden slowly back to its former life.

Reading this book was so much fun! I loved the story, the characters, the writing, everything! Sometimes, classic children books can be a bit sickly sweet. Looking at you Dorothy XD. However, The Secret Garden does a much better job at portraying endearing, yet flawed characters. Mary, our main character is witty and sharp-tongued. She's quite a detestable child when we first meet her and throughout the book she undergoes a truly interesting character growth. Overall, this book was really charming and I do see myself rereading it at some point.

My rating: 4 stars 

I highly recommend this book for those of you who enjoy children books, especially those with unique characters.

This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab - In a world where acts of violence give birth to real monsters, nowhere is really safe. Kate Harker wants to be as ruthless as her father, the most powerful man in town, whose forces keep the monsters at bay, and who makes the humans pay for his protection. August Flynn wants nothing more than to be human, as kind-hearted as his father, the man leading the resistance against the monsters and Harker. However, August is one of the very monsters his world has fallen prey to. His is the ability to steal souls and all it takes is music. When violence suddenly forces Kate and August to cross paths, everything they thought they understand about themselves and their world begins to change.

This book guys! It was my favorite was last month. It was fast paced, the plot was unique, the writing was very descriptive and all the characters were well fleshed out and unique. You follow both August's and Kate's perspectives in this book and I enjoyed both equally. Plus, the setting itself of this world was really cool. And then you have the monsters. We're talking actual blood and flesh preying monsters here guys! So yeah, this book was lots of fun. If you want to know what else I thought of it, look forward for my full review which is coming in a few days ^^

My rating: 4 stars 

Read this book. Trust me, you deserve it :)

So that's it for this wrap-up guys. I hope you enjoyed it. If you've read or plan to read any of these books, share your thoughts with me in the comments. And look forward for my next post which will be a full review of This Savage Song ^^

My 100th Blog Post! (Which ended up becoming a freestyle post because I suck at time management XD)

Hi guys! Today's post is a really exciting one because... it's my 100th post ^^ 

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So back when I noticed I was nearing the 100th post, I thought it would be fun to do something special on the blog to celebrate. Right?? But then it began to rain assignments and suddenly I wasn't even blogging as much as I used to. Don't even get me started on my reading! Sometimes, I... I... I go for entire weeks without reading... *Gasp*

So yeah, my 100th post is finally here and to be honest, I haven't planned anything special to celebrate. So instead, I just decided to write something completely freestyle. I never do this but then again, it's kind of fun to just write whatever I feel like. (Heavens, the editing this post will need afterwards XD).

Firstly, how about a little life update? 

We're nearing the end of the first semester here (already?!) and the workload is crazier than ever. I haven't been able to do much sightseeing here in Malaysia because... workload, again. I've also been mostly busy getting the hang of things. Living by myself, keeping myself fed (fun times!) and cleaning stuff (which I hate doing!). It doesn't help that I'm a super lazy person who sucks at basic housekeeping... partly because I had never really washed dishes or done laundry before moving abroad for uni...

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How about the fun part? The STUDYING?? 

Surprisingly, I'm actually enjoying my studies. And that people, is something I've never, EVER, said before. I used to hate uni when doing my Bachelor degree. And don't get me started on my high school days! But here, the lecturers are really nice and for the first time in a looong time, I find myself in an environment where people actually appreciate the work I do. So I guess that's what keeps me motivated. So yeah, with regards to the studying, things have been quite good and yep, even with the hardcore schedule. 

So how do I spend my days here?

I've been around the city a little bit but to be honest, I haven't been able to see much of Malaysia so far. I made some friends here but none of them live on campus so it does get a little lonely here sometimes. However, I keep myself busy with work and reading whenever I can and so far it's not that bad. Lately, I've picked up journaling and that has been super fun. Maybe I'll write a post about journaling at some point. It's become a favorite hobby of mine and it's also been helping me record memories and save little things I've collected so far, like for example a verrry long receipt from a bookshop that I completely fell in love with here ^^

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And now a word about blogging...

I love it. I always will. I might not have as much time as I used to for it but blogging is something I still enjoy a lot and I'll always find some time to squeeze in a new post in my crazy schedule. I haven't been able to write all the fun stuff I had planned for the last few months but I've been saving them for later and I promise I have lots of cool posts planned for you guys. Plus, it's really nice to know that no matter how hectic or crazy my life gets, on the other side of the screen I still have you guys ^^ So thanks for reading my blog. Thanks also for your friendship. It means a lot to me ♥

Okay, writing a post completely freestyle was actually kind of fun. I hope you enjoyed it! Until next time, happy reading ^^

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The Birthday Book Tag!

Happy Birthday To My Favorite Human!

Hi guys! So today, my sister Pooja turns nineteen and since it's the first time since we've known each other that I'm far, far away from her on her birthday, I thought I would dedicate today's post entirely to her ^^

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The Birthday Book Tag

So I found a really fun birthday book tag which was created by YouTuber BrunetteBibliphile, and whose original video you can watch here, and I adapted it for this post by changing a couple of questions. Then, earlier this morning, I sent the questions to my sister and asked her to answer them for me. Since we were on Skype together when she answered them, it was actually super fun to do the tag!

And so, here are all the answers of the birthday girl ^^

1. Count your birth date along your bookshelf. Then subtract your birth month and go back the same number of books. What book does it land on?

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Her birthday being on the 22nd of July, she first counted 22 books and then went back 7 books, eventually landing on An Abundance of Katherines by John Green. 

2. If you could spend your birthday with any fictional character, who would it be and why?

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Pooja: Peeta Mellark from the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, 'cause I get a feeling he'd sit down and listen to all my problems with real concern. Plus, he's more relatable than other male characters. And he's sooo cute and kind! 

3. Find a book that takes place in the season you were born in.

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Since in Mauritius July is in Winter, she went with Born in Ice by Nora Roberts, also set during Winter.

4. If you could have a cake inspired by a book, which book would it be?

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Pooja: Harry Potter of course!

5. Name a well-loved book you either read on your birthday or received for your birthday.

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Pooja: A Royal Wedding, the long awaited book 11 in the Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot, which was her gift from last year. *Mia and Michael finally get married!* Oops, spoiler alert! 

Memories of another birthday...

Today I can't help but also feel a little nostalgic and remember the last time we celebrated Pooja's birthday together. Last year, since I knew we wouldn't be together for her next birthday, I went all out for her 18th birthday and threw her a Harry Potter party. It was a great day and is totally one of my best memories ever. Like if you'd ask me to pick a happy memory to cast a Patronus spell, I would probably pick that one ^^ We had all those Harry Potter themed props and treats and it was just lots of fun. 

And now I'm going to leave you with some throwback pictures of that Harry Potter birthday party. If you want to see the full post where I shared all the pictures and stories from that day, click here ^^

I send you lots of hugs and kisses Pooja and I hope you have an amazing day! And once again...

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