Monday Round Up!

One of my favourite memes hosted by the lovely Shelia over at Book Journey

Remember last week when I felt I had had such a hectic week.... Well last week was just tiring! I worked 38 hours, fell down my stairs and bruised all of my back, attempted to unpack, met up with a few friends and was ill! Not a good week!

Reviews Posted
Blogger for some reason ate my prepared reviews! :( and with work and being ill I didn't have time to rewrite them!
Other posts
 Top Ten Recommended Books if you love Lindsey Kelk- If you are as big a fan as I am or just a fan of fun romantic comedy reads check out what I think you should add to your TBR list!
Once Upon A Readathon- Yes right now I am taking part in the readathon! So I can stockpile some reviews if blogger behaves!


Read!

I found this one in my bedside drawer and immediately devoured it!

Such a good read- reminded me of my love of Sophie Kinsella.

Reading! and To Be Read

With my planned readathon these two are very similar this week!

Check out more information on my Once Upon a Readthon post :)

Upcoming Reviews
- The Guy Next Door by Meg Cabot- A repost seeing as my planned reviews have been eaten!
To be Rewritten. 
- Matched by Ally Condie
- Mockingjay/Hunger Games Review- eaten by Blogger so being rewritten grrr!!
- I Heart Lindsey Kelk- basically an overview of Lindsey Kelk's fabulous books. Also eaten by Blogger!

Upcoming Posts
Series Vs Stand Alones- The biggest casualty of blogger eating posts! I am furiously rewriting this one :(
Once Upon A Readthon- expect one update and one experience post at least!
Top Ten Tuesday- This week's theme is open!
I will also be putting together my bookcase so maybe a bookcase post??

Let me know what you've been up to blog wise this week and your plans!
Much Love
Lettie
xxx

Once Upon a Readathon! 9th July to 11th July 2012

I sign up for the Third annual Once Upon a Readathon! This Readathon is hosted by Lori at Pure Imagination, Candace at Candace's Book Blog, and Angela at Reading Angel f. It runs from 12:01 AM on July 9 to 11:59 PM on July 11th.

Objective- To set a goal for yourself to read more books that is beyond your average number of books you read. There is no minimum, it's all up to you!

Aim-To read at least five books

Possibilities* subject to change!

Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson
The one that keeps hiding from me! Definitely need to read this one!
Under The Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
Seeing as it will be unpacked on Monday- I might as well!
Love of the Party by Lauren Barnholdt
I always read Lauren's books so quickly! I'm hoping this one will kick start the readathon for me!

Library books
If I Stay by Gayle Foreman
Everything I've read suggests it's so powerful you can't put it down!
Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan.
Rediscovered this one last Tuesday on someones (can't for the life of me remember which blog!) Top Ten Tuesday.
Across The Universe by Beth Revis
Been meaning to read this one for ages- hopefully I can pick it up from the library Monday/Tuesday.

I'm so excited for this readathon! I am working on the 10th but hopefully I can make up for that on the other two days :)
Let me know if you're taking part and what you're planning on reading!

Wish me Luck!
Lettie
xxx

Top Ten Tuesday- Lindsey Kelk Recommendations

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by: The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's topic is Top Ten Books For People Who Like X Author.

I'm picking Lindsey Kelk- Author of the I Heart series and The Single Girl's To-Do List!
Lindsey's books are witty and funny with clever quirky heroines and realistic hot men!
I am attempting not spoil any of the books (apart from I Heart New York- if you haven't picked it up by now....) so I'm referring to the guy Rachel ends up with in The Single Girl's To Do List as love interest!

If you love Lindsey's books you will like these:

Handbags and Gladrags by Maggie Alderson. Emily kind of reminds me of Angela. Emily is how I imagine Angela was prior to fleeing to New York- oblivious to the state of her relationship and a little bit helpless! Handbags and Gladrags is a lovely read- Emily is quite a tragic heroine, her life seems so perfect but it quickly falls apart. Of course, she gets very nice Australian to help her put it back together!

You Don't Have to Say You Love Me by Sarra Manning. The male leads in SGTDL and this one are really similar. Both perceived to be playboys. Both seem to be the wrong guy or Mr Right Now. Both end up perfectly balancing out Neve and Rachel. :) I love You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me so much- the characters are well crafted and realistic especially Neve who is still a girl who feels fat inside despite her weight loss and Max is typically flawed yet good.

The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella. Becky and Luke remind me of Angela and Alex despite their obvious differences’ I love how Alex and Luke seem to be amused and tolerant of Angela and Becky's slight insane moments! Becky's over the topness and Angela's tendency for getting in to messes. The Shopaholic and I Heart series both follow the adventures of English girls with a penchant for making messes who travel across the pond and find love!

 

Come together by Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees. I think what is similar about the relationships in this book and Lindsey Kelk's is how realistic they are! Jack and Amy have a normal twenty something relationship as do Alex and Angela, confused about whether it's a relationship, meddling friends and lots of passion. Come Together is, in my opinion an underrated book which gives both the male and the female side to a contemporary love story.

 Every Boy's Got One by Meg Cabot. Cal reminds me of the SGTDL love interest in ways and Jane and Holly sort of remind me of Angela and Louisa. I don't really know why but when I was brainstorming this Top Ten this books popped up! Every Boy's Got One is a brilliantly funny quick read of elopement and love/hate relationships which despite being part of a series can be read independently.

She Went All the Way by Meg Cabot This is another one that just popped in my head when I thought of Lindsey Kelk. I love She Went All the Way it is witty and again the relationship is realistic (maybe not the circumstances but hey!

Can you keep a Secret by Sophie Kinsella. Love this! Emma spills all of her secrets to a random stranger on a plane while caught in turbulence however the 'stranger' turns out to be the founder of the company she works for- how awkward! I can imagine Angela doing this and it reminds me of Rachel's not so private lists! Can You Keep a Secret was like SGTDL the author's very first stand alone novel which was every bit as good as her already popular series. I hope, like Sophie Kinsella, Lindsey releases lots of really good stand alones as well as the I Heart series.

Johnny Be Good by Paige Toon. My favourite Paige Toon book of all time. Meg is, like Lindsey's leads, down to earth and a realistic character, Johnny on the other hand is a fully fledged rock star with all the matching issues! The book is such a mixture of funny, witty, twists and romance that it sucks you in until you've finished!

Chasing Daisy by Paige Toon. Like Angela, after being dumped Daisy decides to jet off rather than stay put and wallow! Daisy travels the world with the Formula One team and like Angela meets two different but equally attractive men albeit in different circumstances.

Cents and Sensibility by Maggie Alderson. This is another one that just demanded to be on the list! I think prior to SGTDL this was in my Top Five Chick Lit reads- the romance is intense and marred by personal life clashes. The secondary characters are absolutely brilliant! I did think of one slight comparison both Stella and Rachel revisit old crushes and come to the same conclusion.

Ignore the numbers- me and Blogger aren't friends at the moment it won't spell check either! Any one else having problems?

So if you love Lindsey Kelk's fabulous books as much as I do aka a lot then I know you will like these books too!
Let me know if you'd recommend any others!

Much Love!
Lettie
xxx

Monday Round Up!

One of my favourite memes hosted by the lovely Shelia over at Book Journey

What a hectic week! I worked 17 hours, entertained a friend, packed up a large amount of my belongings,  moved all of my Uni stuff eighty miles in two packed cars and emptyed my bookcase!


Reviews Posted
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins- This was scheduled to post ages ago didn't realise it hadn't posted!

Other posts
 Top Ten Travel edition- Check out where I plan on visiting before the end of my 'Golden Year'

Read!

So good! Not sure if it's the last we'll see of Angela though :)
I'm thinking of combining all my Lindsey Kelk reviews into one big post instead of individually

Reading!

With all the packing and moving all my books are boxed away! I only get back last night so I've been bookless which is awful!

To Be Read!
So many choices!

• Outside of boxes the only book I haven't read is The Lightening Thief which is on one of my challenge lists here.
• I should be unpacking a few boxes tomorrow so hoping I will find Second Chance Summer or Under The Never Sky but the problem is I have no bookcase until my grandparents drop my new one off so my books have no home!
• I'm also planning to have a mini libary haul tomorrow and pick up Divergent or Across the Universe so who knows!

Upcoming Reviews
- Matched by Ally Condie- this was another scheduled one that blogger didn't like I'm going to try and keep it to the end of the week
- Mockingjay/Hunger Games Review- keeping this back as Catching Fire has only just posted!
- I Heart Lindsey Kelk- Tuesday or Thursday- basically an overview of Lindsey Kelk's fabulous books :)

Upcoming Posts
I'm up late now attemping to prep as many posts as possible as I seem to have got a bad blog schedule of only posting Sunday Monday and Tuesday!
Top Ten Tuesday- This week's theme is recommendations!
Lettie Loves- Will be back this week I'm thinking Wednesday!
Series Vs Stand Alones- this one is proving long so I'm hoping next weekend!

Let me know what you've been up to book wise or life wise!
Have a lovely week!

Much Love
Lettie
xxx

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

After winning the brutal Hunger Games, Katniss and Peeta return to their district, hoping for a peaceful future. But their victory has caused rebellion to break out ... and the Capitol has decided that someone must pay. As Katniss and Peeta are forced to visit the districts on the Capitol's Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. Unless they can convince the world that they are still lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying. Then comes the cruellest twist: the contestants for the next Hunger Games are announced, and Katniss and Peeta are forced into the arena once more.

I ended up travelling to the station WHSmiths as I couldn't wait to start this book!

Where to start!? I'm going to trial a different review style as it was hard to piece together all of my thoughts!

What I loved-

• Pace- the speed of the book paralleled how fast Katniss felt everything was moving. It went Victory Tour- Quarter Quell selection- Preparation- Hunger Games  So much was covered in a relatively short book especially when the whole of the first book was essentially The Hunger Games and Preparation.
• The Districts- The Victory Tour gave a really good visual overview of the districts. District 12 also played a larger physical part in book so Peeta's and Katniss' families etc could be explored.
• Politics- the propaganda of the victory tour, the separation of districts, the way the Capitol is portrayed. The kind of things Katniss as a District 12 girl would never have been aware of! The government which set up the Hunger Games was obviously very clever to have created a way to make the districts feel such rivalry based on an annual cruel event opposed to actual differences.
• The Quarter Quell- a cruel but clever twist. As the latest victors Katniss and Peeta had the advantage of only knowing each other- the other victors were friends, siblings and some of them had mentored others which made it so much more horrible! It also allowed a larger range of ages to compete. 
• Victors-The range of victors from the District One careers to Maggs who took the place of poor Annie in District Four to the 'Morphlings' from District Six. I loved seeing the personalities of such differnt victors espeically their handling of the interviews, training and inital unity.
• Game Design- it was so complex and clever! I would never have figured out how it worked- Wiress was especially perceptive.
• Finnick Odair- he really grew on me. He started off as arrogant and quickly became witty and selfless. I loved how Katniss clearly didn't trust him but he grew on her too!
• Peeta and Katniss- I loved how their relationship developed over the book with Katniss still oblivious! It was sweet how they took comfort from each other. I really admired Peeta's dedication to Katniss because she often disregarded him and his feelings but he remains committed to keeping her alive- he once again was amazing at the interview!

What I didn't like as much-

• President Snow- what a sinister man! I was genuinely scared of him- I kept expecting him to pop up on their train just to torment Katniss. He also set Katniss an impossible task, there was no way her relationship with Peeta could have stopped anything! I couldn't believe how harshly he cracked down on District 12! Without spoiling too much he made it clear to Katniss just how much he knew about her and how far he was willing to go to punish her. Creepy!
• Johanna- she was very abrasive and over the top. Who strips down in a lift with two random people! Strange.
• Gale- I felt he was purposely being provactive with Katniss! If he had feelings he had time to act before.. I think I just love Peeta too much to be a fan of Gale!
• The ending- Purely because it was such a great cliffhanger! So glad I was able to get my hands on Mockingjay the next day- couldn't have waited much longer!

I really enjoyed Catching Fire, It was the perfect midway book keeping the action moving, filled with surprises and leaving as many questions as it resolved! I would have given it 5 but it wasn't as amazing as The Hunger Games!

Let me know your thoughts on Catching Fire!

Also if you like this review style :)

Much Love

Lettie

xxx

Top Ten Tuesday: Travel

I plan on doing a lot of travelling in my 'Golden Year' so these are the top ten places I want to visit! I don't think I'll manage to actually visit all these places between the end of my Golden Year next May but one can hope!

Madrid

I have yet to visit the capital of Spain, which is shocking as I have visited every other Western European capital and have been to Spain and Spanish territories more times than I can count! I'm excited to see all the culture and history Madrid has to offer. I'm planning a nice relaxing sunny city break with one of best school friends in September. Hopefully it will still be warm and less busy than school holidays!

Brussels

A friend of mine is doing a placement in Brussels and promised me a bed in exchange for visiting! I've been to Belgium quite a few times and I really like it as it's such a mixpot country.  I see Brussels as my 'gateway' city to interrailling Europe as I plan to focus on central/eastern Europe it makes sense to head to Brussels first. Plus Belgium is so compact I can use Brussels as a base to explore Belgium too :)

Dublin

Ireland remains the last country of the British Isles for me to visit- ironic as I live closer to Ireland than Scotland! I've heard great things about Dublin and I've thinking a long catch up weekend with a Uni friend would be the perfect excuse! :)

Los Angeles

One of my best friends is doing a year abroad in LA! It would be rude not to visit.... Especially as I have yet to cross the Atlantic :) We are thinking (depending on money) of doing a road trip across country to.... 

 New York!

As a girl obsessed by big cities, fashion and American TV it's no wonder that I have dreamt of New York for years! Road tripping there would be the ultimate dream <3.

Vienna

Another interrail stop! I have been in awe of the beautiful architecture and history of Vienna for years! I want to see it all- I love European palaces and architecture style. My camera will be fully charged for this one!

Budapest

In my mind Budapest and Vienna go hand in hand- possibly because of Austria and Hungary's linked history, possibly because I like pair things up! Either way this is another beautiful city I want to explore! It will also be a relaxing spot as Budapest is the City of Spas! How relaxing does the picture look?

Gibraltar

One of my Uni friends lives here and it looks like such a fun and sunshine place! If you live in the UK you will understand how badly I crave sunshine and beaches right now!

London

I have of course been to London before but there is so much to see! London is having a golden year itself with the Jubilee and the Olympics so I'm excited to go for a long weekend and take it all in- it's only an hour's train journey away!

Zagreb

My friend's boyfriend swears Croatia is the most beautiful European country he has been too! From the pictures it looks gorgeous- I'm including Zagreb on my interrail plan to get a feel for Croatia.

Geneva

I plan on finishing my interrail adventure in Geneva. I really want to see the Reformation Museum and the Palais of Nations- two attractions which frame two very important European historical events. It's an expensive place to stay but I'm hoping it will be a nice last few days before conveniently flying directly home!

I'm so excited to actually travel- let me know if you've been to any of these places or if you have any suggestions!
Much love
Lettie
xxx

Monday Round Up!

One of my favourite memes hosted by the lovely Shelia over at Book Journey

Reviews Posted

The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove by Lauren Kate

Other posts

Top Ten Summer Reads- Check out what books I plan on reading this summer :)


Read!

 Loved this! Another beautifully crafted world- such detail :)


Reading!

Speeding through I Heart London- Still love Angela and I love seeing her in London :)
I should be reunited with Second Chance Summer this week and I can't wait!  


To Be Read!

Undecided!
Perhaps Crossed- not sure if I want to hold off as it's a middle book and those always make you desperate for the last one!
I've got two weeks of full on 10-5 work plus moving everything back into my small bedroom at home to do so I may stick to quick reads :)

New Books!

Went to buy Crossed and Divergent came back with Under the Never Sky which just caught my eye- think the Dystopia challenge is getting to me!
Not a massive fan of the cover now  I've seen the US one though!


Upcoming Posts

Top Ten Travel edition- my top ten places I want to visit before my next birthday!
Lettie Loves- I used to do little posts on things I was loving that week, might bring it back as I really liked them :)
Post on series vs stand alones when it comes to books- It seems like every book I pick up lately is part of a series!

If any of this sounds remotely interesting to you let me know :)
Also I'd love to hear what you're up to book or blog wise this week!


Much Love
Lettie
xxx