Posts

Showing posts from February, 2018

A Way Out: A Memoir of Conquering Depression and Social Anxiety by Michelle Balge

Image
Rating: 5/5 *I received an ebook copy in exchange for an honest review* Warning: this book is completely honest and deals with very heavy topics within mental health, therefore it may be triggering to some. If you are having a rough time currently or you feel you can't deal with these kind of ideas do not read this review, and please don't pick up this memoir. This memoir focuses on Michelle's struggles with depression and social anxiety throughout her life. The book moves from the first signs of these, to coming to struggle with them seriously, to discovering what they are and how this impacts her life, and finally to how one can recover. It's a difficult story to read at times, but ultimately it's a story of fighting, determination, and hope. I would like to start off with saying I am floored by the complete honesty and transparency Michelle has shown in sharing her own story and experiences with mental illness, this memoir is incredible raw and it real

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli

Image
Rating: 4/5 I'm going to start this off with saying I haven't read 'Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda' which maybe I should have before I read this, because it seems to contain spoilers for that book as it's set in the same universe. So, if you're like me and haven't read 'Simon vs Homo Sapiens Agenda' yet read that first, you don't have to it'll just avoid spoilers for you. This book was really sweet and cute and so easy to read, I read the ebook form of this in one day on my phone when my family and I were stuck in a holiday cottage with no wifi and signal for a weekend - which was a nightmare by the way, a living nightmare. Anyway, I'm glad I had this book to keep me company, because it's just the sort of book I was in the mood for and I would highly recommend it as a cutesy romantic read; however, this also incorporated elements of conversations we need to have sometimes - especially seen with Molly and Cassie's grandmot

The Host by Stephanie Meyer Review

Image
Rating: 3/5 To be honest I was continually a little bit conflicted with this book, there were parts which I thought were fantastic, and other parts that felt a bit off the mark to me. However, I do think this is probably the best Stephanie Meyer book I've read and it far exceeds the Twilight Saga in terms of quality and I enjoyed it a far bit. To start off with I've got to say, even after all these years I still enjoy Stephanie's style of writing, it's very easy to read and it usually flows well; and whilst it may not critically be the best I don't have a bone to pick with it. Although, I do have a bone to pick with the structure/time sequencing of this book. I felt we just had massive time gaps in places and I was kinda left floundering and trying to make sense of it, the most obvious one of these was at the beginning of the book between chapter 3 to 4 and I don't know if I missed something, but there was no indication that months had literally passed by

January 2018 Wrap Up

Image
Hello All, Since I've finally started reading again I wanted to give you a quick update on where I am and what I've read over the last month, as I don't feel comfortable enough to really write reviews on any of these. Obviously there are spoilers ahead. 1. Price and Predjudice and Zombies This is the first book I read this year, and it was a strange experience as I have never read Pride and Predjudice so maybe I went about it in the wrong order, but I have seen the TV adaptation so I know the rough storyline. To be honest, I didn't hate this book but I didn't love it I have quite neutral feelings about it to be honest. I thought Elizabeth were strong and times which was interesting considering the setting but then they would so something so weak and submissive it would just ruin it. Although, I've got to say my favourite thing they kept in Elizabeth's awesome speech directed at Mr Darcy and that was quite entertaining paired with a fight. So if Zombies

February 2018 TBR!

Image
Hi All, I think I read 20 or so books in the last year which really isn't great for me, and whilst there may have been a reason behind that I'm making myself TBR lists this year to try and ensure I actually read what I want to read this year. I'm not going to be strict about it, because at the end of the day I might just not fancy a certain type of book at that time but I may want it later, but this list will still be a rough guideline of what I plan to read. 1. The Host by Stephanie Meyer Now just like most at the age of 11 I read Twilight, and like most of that age I loved it. I lived for it. I used to stay up under the covers devouring that saga and dreaming of Bella and Edward. Now, I don't think like that so much. I don't have that much, lets say, respect for the series and I have no desire to pick it  up ever again. But that being said I've been told The Host is far superior and that I'll love it, so perhaps against my better judgement I'm go

My Mental Health Update

Image
Dear whoever may be reading this, I have had a whirlwind year to say the least, but I think it's finally starting to calm down now. I know this may sound familiar to a post I made before but this time I believe it. In my last post I described what happened to me up until last March, but that's obviously no longer the complete story. I naively believed I was better then as I attended school and slept and ate more, and whilst yes that shows improvement, it did not mean I was better . Do you understand? It didn't mean I was whole in myself or living, and as stupid as that may sound it took me a few more months to figure that out. After March, I went through an almost stagnated period with my mental health, nothing seemed to improve, but nothing was better. I wasn't better. Maybe that was because I was attending school part time and focusing on a subject again, meaning I didn't have time to focus on myself. I was surprised then that the work I had put into my ment