The Ice Twins

Hello everyone,

Last Friday as I was packing up my belongings to move back to university my Mam came upstairs to help me choose which books to take. I always like to take a few books to read for pleasure and then switch them out when I come home for weekends. She had just finished The Ice Twins by S.K. Tremayne and thought I should take it with me and give it a try.

I had never heard of this author before, but I’m always keen to try new things, you end up discovering so many wonders that way. The front cover of the book is quite haunting and hinted at a horror story or maybe a crime novel, however, when I read the blurb it leaned more towards a psychological thriller!

*I promise there won’t be any spoilers in this review*

The story follows a young family who have identical twin daughters and a happy dog, the picture of domestic bliss, but right from the beginning there was something strange about the girls. The uncanny thing about the Moorcroft twins is that their level of similarity is absolute, other than personality there is no real way to distinguish between them, not even genetically via DNA. When they are both living this isn’t a problem, but what happens if one of them dies? What happens when the surviving twin proclaims they buried the wrong sister?

As the story unfolds you learn more about Kirstie and Lydia and what really happened on the day of the accident. Throughout this book I wavered between thinking it was a crime novel, a ghost story or simply a tale of mental instability. I had so many questions! Is the girl Kirtsie or Lydia? Is she mad? Is she seeing ghosts? What is really happening on that desolate Hebridean island?

S.K. Tremayne manages that perfect concoction needed to create a truly gripping story and subtly blur the lines between insanity and the paranormal. I would give this book 5 stars and highly recommend it to anybody who loves a good old spooky story! In fact I am already lending The Ice Twins to two people!

Have you guys read it? Do you like spooky stories? Let me know in the comments below :-) 

xoxo

The Fox and The Star

Hello everyone! 

I hope you are all looking forward to the weekend, I know I am! The first week back at university is always quite intense and this year is certainly no exception. I haven't really had time for any long stints of reading so instead I turned to the short stories and wanted to share this review with you.

The Fox and The Star is a stunning debut book by Coralie Bickford-Smith. I had never heard of this author before, so here is a little about her. Coralie currently works at the Penguin Books publishing house designing covers and graphics for other books. Some of you may recognise her work from the gorgeous cloth-bound Penguin Classics released not too long ago, you can check out some of her work here. The Fox and The Star is her first published book and my word what a book to start on! I have to admit I didn't know anything about the story before I opened the book, I was drawn in by the cover art alone. 

The fox and The Star is a modern day fable, not dissimilar to the works of the celebrated french story teller Jean de la Fontaine. The story follows the journey of a young, timid fox guided by his friend Star. She lights his way and helps him to feel brave in the darkness, until one day she disappears. Fox is crushed and hides himself away deep in a burrow, but that is no life for a young fox so he ventures out to seek his star. He searches high and low, asking many creatures if they have seen her. Eventually his quest brings him to a new part of the forest, taking pity on him the forest shakes off her leaves to leave Fox a message. The message tells him to look up, he does so and his breath is taken away. His star was not alone in the night sky, she is one of millions, learning this gives Fox the courage to explore the world, safe in the knowledge that his star is up there somewhere watching over him. 

I loved this story so much that as soon as I had finished reading it, I turned back to page one and read it all over again. The art is so beautiful too, each page is a delight and made grin from ear to ear! I also love the morals behind this fable, I think taking a moral from a story is very personal, but I would like to share mine with you. Courage in even the darkest of times will be rewarded and that there is always light and joy if you only look for it hard enough. Some people will read this and just hear a nice tale, others will find deep meaning...isn't it wonderful that we all see something different? 

I'd love to hear what you guys thought of The Fox and The Star, did you just enjoy the story or did you read more into it? Let me know in the comments below :-) 

xoxo

Anyone for Fanfiction?

Hello everyone, 

Let's talk about the fantastic novel by Rainbow Rowell that is Fangirl...what do you guys think of it?

I have to admit that the first time I picked it up I was far from wowed, it took me a good 100 pages to get into the story. For some reason I just couldn't form a mental image of Cath! I always find that if I can't picture the main character I really struggle to make an emotional investment in the story. I don't know if I couldn't get into it because I was in the wrong frame of mind or if I was in a reading slump...who knows? After I finally immersed myself in the world of Cath, Art, Levi, Wren and Reagan I started to enjoy it, but I was still a little underwhelmed considering the hype around this book! 

Then last week I was perusing my shelves looking for a comfort read and there was Fangirl sat on my shelf between Eleanor and Park (which I loved btw) and The Little Coffee Shop in Kabul. I picked it up and was hooked by, ooh let me see, I'm gonna say page 3? Re-reading was a totally different experience! I was instantly immersed in the story and it took me a while to resurface when I was called away from the book. I even found myself liking the addition of the Simon Snow mini-stories and looking forward to the next one, which makes me super keen to read Carry On. 

I'd never really known much about fanfiction until around a year ago, I think for many people it is unchartered territory. The idea of borrowing well known and loved characters to insert them into your own story is fascinating, and I have since developed a love of reading quick fanfiction when I have a spare 15 minutes. I think a lot of writers struggle in the same was as Cath with the stigma and push back against fanfic from more traditional authors who see it as plagiarism. To my mind, as long as the author doesn't mind it and the fanfic writers aren't trying to breach copywriter or earn money from it, then what is the problem? 

The fanfic debate aside, this story is so true to life. I completely sympathise with Cath over how hard it can be to transition from teenager to young adult. University life is hard and can be quite isolating and lonely, it takes a brave soul to be completely undaunted by all the newness! It was really invigorating to actually read an honest account of uni life, so many books paint it through rose tinted glasses, but this story felt real. Here is a quick summary, minus spoilers for those who haven't read it! 

Cath is 18 and starting her first day at college, minus her twin Wren. For the first time in 18 years they won't be sharing a room together, won't be eating together and won't be socialising together. The prospect of this is pretty terrifying for Cath, but Wren has made it pretty clear that while they may both be attending the same college they are not going to be inseparable. This pushes Cath to dive deeper into writing her Simon Snow - Heir of Mages fanfiction, compensating for growing social anxiety and isolation. However, her new roommate Reagan and her boyfriend Levi won't let Cath be alone, much as she might think she craves it! Balancing popular fanfiction, assignments, dating, a sister going off the rails and a fragile father is no easy task, how will Cath cope? Pushed to breaking point Cath needs to decide how she wants her own story to end, or begin... 

I found Cath's story so relatable and it rang so true with some of mine and my friend's experiences that it actually made me quite emotional! The story is engaging and the characters very lovable, especially Levi who reminds me of a certain someone in my own life. If you haven't read this book, or have and found it less exciting that expected, pick it up and try again, I am so glad that I did. 

What did you guys think of this story? Let me know in the comments below, book recommendations are always welcome :-) 

xoxo

Back to Uni

On Monday I started back at university for my 4th year, saying that makes me feel like I’ve been at uni forever! I always like to plan in advance my outfit and makeup for the first day. It’s so important to feel confident, but also comfortable when you’re going to be seeing people again after a whole summer away. I am naturally very girly and I have always felt at my most comfortable in a dress or a skirt, so that is my go-to for a first day back outfit. I also like to make a bit of a statement the first day! 

I decided to go with this gorgeous burgundy dress from Miss Selfridge, it is a bold colour, but very autumnal and feminine. The top of the dress is fitted, but at the hips it swings out to give a nice float and swish as you move around. I paired this with some thin black tights and these gorgeous black suede brogues from a small boutique in France (I have forgotten the name!). For my hair, I decided to tie back the front and top with a small black lace bow clip, to give a semi-up-do feel to my hair, out of my face but still quite casual. I went with very simple jewellery, a lovely Vivienne Westwood watch in lime green and salmon pink tones, a gold bangle linked by a thin chain to a ring and my usual array of earnings.  

For a first day back at lectures I think it is important to be fairly natural with the makeup, especially as it is still early autumn and a fresh look will show off a summer tan very well. Plus it helps with the whole casual chic aim of this look. For my face I use the Benefit How to look the best at everything kit in light as a base, minus the powder, and Clarins Everlasting Foundation + in Ivory as foundation. I then use the Benefit Flawless powder in Ivory to set my makeup. My blusher is the old Benefit Coralista, I think the current shade for this has changed and is more bronzey, mine is quite old so is more of a coral/plum tone. Around the eyes I used two gold, one light and one more intense, shades from the Ted Baker Ballerina pallet. This gives a lighter version of the traditional smokey eye and catches the light to give a subtle glow. I love the mascara I’m using at the moment, it is the My Little Beauty mascara soin et volume and it give a fabulous length and curl to my lashes. I pencil in my eyebrows very lightly, just to give a bit of shape using the Sephora long lasting brow pencil in light brown 01. I also like to use the clear L’Oreal Brow Artist Plumper gel mascara to maintain the shape throughout the day! Finally, I like to use the muted pink Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in 01 to provide a nice sheen, for a natural looking lip. 

I just thought I would share my first day back outfit with you all and let me tell you, it was such a good choice, I really appreciated the comfort of the dress and flat shoes after a 9-6 day in class! One piece of advice, avoid new or uncomfortably heeled shoes in your first week as you never know how much walking you might need to do! 

What did you guys wear on your first day? Or what have you planned to wear if you haven’t gone back yet? I would love to hear about it in the comments below :-)

xoxo