Imogen's Typewriter.

A lot of the beginning is very stationary as Mia is in Genovia and is doing a lot of boring princess stuff, but it soon picks up when she calls her friend. I was actually smiling when I read the last twenty or so pages because of how mushy and cute it was, I don't read a lot of romance so it was a nice experience.

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I enjoyed it! The characters are likeable and pretty dang accurate to teenagers, they're funny and young and whiney and have, what I call, 'high school bullshit' drama.
A little thing I noticed, my edition is so old it actually says 'the third and final part' in the blurb. This was clearly before the next 7 books came out!

Review originally posted on Imogen’s Typewriter.

This was recommended to me by my tutor as her first recommendation to new students of writing and as a fan of Stephen Kings work I was more than willing to pick up a copy. I've been dipping in and out of it for months but decided to finally sit down and read it cover to cover. Personally, I think if you have even the remotest interest in writing as a degree, career or even just for fun then this is something I would pick up. I learnt a huge amount about his method of writing which was fascinating, and it really inspired me in my own writing. When I finished it, I felt like turning it over and starting from the beginning again. I was really inspired.

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I flew through this book in about four days, which was about 100 pages a day and oh my goodness. The story is set over 18 days, with a countdown as chapter titles, it was very dramatic! And has three characters, each in a very different situation within The Walled City. Jin Ling, who just wants to find her sister. Dai, who has a mysterious past and a plan to get out. And Mei Yee, who has been sold into prostitution and just wants to stay alive. The Walled City actually existed too, you can read about it here.
A issue I've seen a few people have with this book is the frequent use of metaphors, but I picked this up right after reading 150 pages of The Handmaid's Tale and in comparison, this book does metaphors much more smoothly. It feels polished and doesn't jar the reading. In fact, this is one of the first books in a while where it felt more like I was watching the story, rather than reading it.

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I was pretty excited when I found out that Fleur was writing a book. I've been subscribed to her on YouTube for years and years, and hers was one of the first blogs I ever found, eventually leading to me starting my own. This book is split into seven main sections so I'm going to split my review up as such.

Beauty
The beauty section is one of the parts I was most excited for, I don't know quite what I expected but I definitely didn't expect the basic information there was, nothing you couldn't find in a quick google. If you're hoping for comprehensive beauty tips, I'd look into the Bobbi Brown make up books- they're great. If you're a beginner than this is a good place to start.

Hair
Pretty short section at 20 pages and again nothing new. You get some hairstyles, some DIY masks and some colouring tips. I did my usual sticky note way of reading (I swear my post on this will be up soon) and this section had none.

Fashion
The fashion section was interesting, mainly because it's not something I know a lot about like the beauty and hair section. It's made me rethink my packed wardrobe and want to do a bit of a revamp once I have some extra cash. I really liked that it wasn't just OOTDs and had actual recommendations of how to put outfits together. The tips are simple but classic and something I think anyone could do with being reminded of.

Travel
I love travel, I love reading peoples experiences, favourite places, travel tips, everything. I just wish this section was longer! At a meagre 18 pages, it was over as quickly as it began. There's a packing page, a page on travelling in style (nothing is going to make me give up travelling in sweatpants), a couple of pages on in flight beauty and a couple of pages on jet lag. I just wanted more.

Health and Fitness
I really don't have much to say on this section. Health and Fitness is so personal from person to person I think it's a tricky subject to cover. I will say I think the recipes were unnecessary for anyone with Pinterest but the Fitness Shortcuts were interesting. If you're a relatively healthy person who wants to start exercising then go for it.

Life, Love, Dreams and everything in between
This! This was what I wanted and hoped for. Tips on self-confidence, body image, positive thinking and life goals. All were subjects dealt with class and honest to god helpfulness. I especially loved the section on admiring achievements, not criticising other women based on looks. As someone who went to an all-girls school, this was a mindset I really had to work on as I grew up because we're all so conditioned to be horrible to other women. I hope the people reading this book really take it to heart.

YouTube and Blogging
As a blogger, I was excited for this section but it was definitely aimed more at YouTubers which I understand. Fleur is primarily a YouTuber. If I ever start a YouTube channel, I'll probably refer back to this.

Overall, I didn't hate this book but I also didn't love it. I think the artwork and design was spot on and what was there, was good. It had some really great bits that just needed expanding- especially for the asking price of £14.99! Even for the £7.49 price on Amazon. I understand that as a content creator, it's sometimes hard to come up with things that are fresh and new, and that's why I think the book could've done with more about Fleur. My favourite of these types of books is actually Jennifer Farley's (Jwoww from Jersey Shore) as so much of her personality and culture is in it. I would've loved that from this book.

Review originally posted on Imogen’s Typewriter.

To get hyped up for seeing Benjamin Zephaniah perform some of his poems, I thought it would be a good idea to read through my battered and loved copy of Talking Turkeys (now signed!). I love the poems in this collection, they're definitely aimed at kids but Zephaniah knows what he's doing and he does it well. The poem that led me to eventually become a vegetarian is in this book and I think it's a great little number to pick up for kids that maybe need a helping hand into poetry.

Review originally posted on Imogen’s Typewriter.

The lesson in this book definitely seems to be tell your parent/ guardian when serious things are going down. It's hard to review this book without spoilers but the world expands again in a really beautiful manner, I would totally live with dwarves. Underground? No sunlight? Precious metals? If it has wi-fi, I'm in.

Review originally posted on Imogen’s Typewriter.

The whole series really comes together in this book, there are no lose ends, it's all tied up nicely with a satisfying ending.
The biggest complaint I saw on the Goodreads reviews for this series was that the books were so short, but these are books aimed at kids. And the authors know their audience. Averaging at just over 100 pages a book, these are the perfect length for the age group and I'll be keeping my copies around in the hope of sharing these stories with future children.
The whole series has beautiful illustrations as well that I just want to frame and put on my walls, they really add something to the books and are great for the imagination.

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The gang go to visit Lucinda, the 'mad' great aunt of the three children and she tells her story of the magical creatures she has encountered to the kids, which gives us a pretty neat backstory. The first half wasn't a lot of direct action and the second half was kind of slow but the book as a whole was lovely. Middle books are always tricky.

Review originally posted on Imogen’s Typewriter.

In this book we meet new creatures like goblins, a hobgoblin and a griffin. And there's even more Thimbletack from the first book who speaks only in rhyme which is adorable. My favourite had to be; "A human boy is like a snake. His promises are easy to break." Thimbletack speaks the truth!
The books go from strength to strength, this one focuses more on external threats. Mallory, who is one of my favourite female fictional characters, she makes me want to start fencing, comes to the defence of her brothers despite them not getting along much. The family dynamic of siblings is spot on, as is the story.

Review originally posted on Imogen’s Typewriter.

This is a really fun introduction to this series; you meet the characters, you see the house, you start to see the wonders and scares of this world. The whole series doesn't shy away from being just that little bit scary, but it has enough humour and family and great storytelling to make it a perfect kids book. It also has a lovely bit where a character who isn't really a 'reader', loves to stay up late reading when he finds a book that interests him. I loved it. The same character is dealing with anger issues; "he knew what it was like to be mad, and he knew how easy it was to get into a fight, even if you were really mad at someone else." It really stood out to me as a great message, and these books could be used to open some pretty tricky conversations with kids. Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black have written a great first book.

Review originally posted on Imogen’s Typewriter.

Review originally posted on Imogen’s Typewriter.

This book came in my February Loot Crate and I was super excited to read it, unfortunately reality wasn't as good as the hype or my expectations.
Now I was born in the nineties, so my knowledge of the eighties is next to nothing. In fact, I really can't think of anything I watch/read/listen to that comes from the eighties. The references this book made kind of flew over my head rather than making my nostalgic, which I think is the main charm of. I got very excited at the one Firefly reference, but that was really it, so I can only imagine how people who knew the eighties would feel. For me, the book wasn't strong enough to carry itself without that.
I'm constantly told to show, not tell in my writing, and I think that's the main problem I had with this book. I felt like I was being told everything.

A very close second for my favourite, I found myself laughing out loud more than once as I read. In this story a writer accidentally brings back the ghost of his dead wife, much to the distaste of his current wife. You can't beat that. The work up to the ending is flawless, especially when you consider that Coward wrote this in five days in 1941 during the war. I wish I could see this performed.

Review originally posted on Imogen’s Typewriter.

My favourite of Noël Cowards work, I saw this in Manchester a couple of years ago and found it absolutely hilarious. Two exes find each other in a hotel while on their honeymoon with their new spouses. Reading it was a pleasure, the story is funny and the characters are well developed. They aren't particularly likeable but you end up liking them anyway. Or at least liking that you dislike them.

Review originally posted on Imogen’s Typewriter.

I love the dialogue in Noël Cowards work, but for this one- one of his earlier works from 1920, the plot didn't quite fit for me. I wouldn't have known quite what was going on if I hadn't read the forward I don't think. It was still worth reading though. Nobody writes British wit quite like Noël Coward in my opinion.

Review originally posted on Imogen’s Typewriter.

It took me a while to get round to this book because I'm not much of a historical fiction reader. But I was looking through old reviews on my blog and found one of The Crimson Ribbon by Katherine Clements. These two books are only set 40 years apart so I thought that it would be a good way to explore the historical fiction genre comfortably.
This book is pretty much the definition of a slow burn, it took me a good amount of time to read even though it's not a huge book. It was calm for a long time then so much drama, the hits just kept on coming over and over. This book deals with a lot of things; racism, homophobia, sexism, and just that times values in Amsterdam which was fascinating as I love that city but boy does it have a past.
I feel like this book was made for a re-read. There's so much detail and foreshadowing that I think would be amazing the second round when you know what is going on and how the story ends.

Review originally posted on Imogen’s Typewriter.