December 09, 2013

Videos Every Weekday!

Any of you who watch my YouTube channel will likely already know this but for those of you that don't (you totally should by the way!), here's some details about the changes I have bought about recently.

So a few weeks a go I decided that I wanted to up the number of video I was making each week and I wondered if I could managed 5 videos a week. It seemed unlikely but I gave it a go anyway a did I trial week where I filmed and edited videos but I didn't upload them. It was a success despite having deadlines and other fun stuff going on that week so I decided to take the plunge and start uploading videos every single weekday.

This new schedule started on my channel two weeks ago so if you haven't checked them out yet, there's already eleven videos for you to feast your eyes on! I thought I'd post a few of my favourites for you here and I would absolutely love it if you could check them out, give them a thumbs up and of course subscribe! 

THE DAY OF THE DOCTOR
My 100% coherent thoughts on the 50th Anniversary Special of Doctor Who.



R.I.P. BRIAN GRIFFIN
Let us come together to remember the life of Brian Griffin.


LIVIN' ON A PRAYER
Why am I not Taylor Swift?!



IT'S DECEMBER
Let's crack out some festive tunes and have a little piece of chocolate for breakfast!



PLEASE DON'T DAY YOU LOVE ME
A cover of one of my favourite Gabrielle Aplin songs.




December 08, 2013

New York Here I Come (Hopefully)!

Ok let's not get too ahead of ourselves, it's not for definite yet but I have handed in my application to study abroad in the States. Are you proud?

After writing my post a few weeks ago I thought about it all a lot and although I'm still nervous about various aspects of studying abroad, I had to admit to myself that I couldn't not apply. How often does an opportunity to spend a year in America come along? So, I did. It was all made somewhat easier when three of my friends decided to apply too which means even if they aren't in the same city as me, they will be going through it with me.

I still have to have an interview in February for them to decide if I'm a suitable candidate for the Study Abroad programme but fingers crossed they think I am. It's also more stringent for 3rd year applicants because of the fact that we've technically already finished our degree and so could easily drop out of the year abroad without any major consequences which would mean the University would have wasted a lot of money.

I've done the hard bit that could have been so easy for me to not do, to just forget about and move on but I didn't. I handed in my application and now it's out of my hands, it's up to someone else to decide whether I go or not.

The main downside if I don't get accepted is that I would have to decide what I want to do with myself once I graduate so let's hope I get to go so I can procrastinate for a whole year from that dreaded decision.

So this time next year I could be living it up in New York City! Scary but exciting!

December 01, 2013

Ciaté Advent Calender

It's finally December which means it's that time of the year where we all have a tiny chocolate for breakfast. However, I have been a very lucky girl this year as my Mum treated me to the Ciaté Mini Mani Month Advent Calendar which means as well as my little piece of Cadbury goodness each morning, I get a mini bottle of nail varnish. 


The advent calendar includes 23 mini sized nail varnishes plus one full sized surprise shade. Amongst the mini's there's 4 caviar polishes and 3 exclusive glitter polishes that are only available as part of the advent calendar. I'm definitely intrigued to try the caviar ones as it's not something I'd have bought otherwise.


These retail for in and around £40 which sounds like an extortionate amount of money when compared to the couple of quid you usually spend but as the retail value of the calendar is over £100 it's really not that bad. Plus, you're getting some that lasts much longer than chocolate.

I've already opened the first door and inside was a beautiful glittery topcoat called Snow Globe that almost looks like little flecks of white tinsel. The perfect addition to a Christmas manicure. 


The only fault I have with the calendar is that the colours are shown on the back which I personally find somewhat spoils the fun of finding out what colour is behind each door. I would've prefered to not know at all what colours are coming up.

That aside I still can't wait to open the rest of the doors and count down to Christmas! Anyone else getting ridiculously excited?

November 20, 2013

Royal Portrait or Latest Horror Film?

Whether you have any interest in the Danish Royal Family or not, you can't deny that the newest portrait of the family that was released recently is creepy! It genuinely looks like a poster for the latest horror film where a young prince gets possessed and sets out to kill anyone that gets in the way.


As well as Prince Christian's "The Omen" look front and centre, let's not ignore the pretty evil glare that's being focused at him from Princess Isabella in the corner. Seriously, she does not looked best please with being relegated to the side. Nobody puts Isabella in the corner! Also, why are they standing in the ruined remains of Pompeii?

On a more positive note, I love that it involves all three generations and to be honest, the more I look at the less creepy it gets. I also absolutely love the added touch of Danishness that's been thrown in by having Princes Nikolai and Felix playing with lego. I also have to say that, aside from the slightly excessive shadowing, the likenesses of the all the family are extremely good especially Prince Nikolai and little Prince Henrik. It's certainly a damn site better than some of the portraits that have been done of The Queen over the years!

It does make me hope that the British Royal Family will get a family portrait done, especially since we have four generations at the moment what with little Prince George. I just hope it looks a little less sinister than this.

What do you think of the Danish Royal Family portrait? Too creepy or just right?

November 16, 2013

McBusted

I remember being about 14 and going to see Busted at the NEC Arena in Birmingham and McFly were one of their support acts. Now eight years later and I'm going back to the same arena to see them again but this time as one ultimate supergroup, McBusted. I genuinely cannot wait! It's gonna be sea of 20-somethings all screaming the words to what was the soundtrack of our teen years. 


Last night the guys made their debut TV performance as McBusted for Children in Need and it brought out the 14 year old in side of me. They did a mash up of 4 songs, It's All About You, Year 3000, Air Hostess and Shine A Light and it was…words cannot describe my excitement. This tour is going to be incredible! Check out their performance below:



I'm kind of sad that Charlie from Busted has decided not to take part in it all but I can understand it, plus he has given his support to the whole thing which I think is cool. Still, it would have made it even more perfect, a bit like when Robbie came back to Take That but even better because I remember Busted the first time round.

I also have to admit that hearing the songs all together it does show you how much the McFly songs have matured as the boys have whereas the Busted ones are very much anchored in the naughties (James appears to be stuck there too). Still, it's great to see Busted back and the guys look like they're having an absolute whale of time which is what counts!

Anybody else as excited for McBusted as I am?

November 03, 2013

Farewell Anni

Today I awoke to amazing news that my cousin's wife had given birth to a healthy baby girl. Unfortunately a few hours later this was overshadowed by the horrible news that an old friend of mine from school had tragically passed away just over a week ago. I hope you guys don't mind if I take a moment to write down my thoughts on such an amazing person.


Dear Anni, 

You were someone who could make anyone laugh and I have so many amazing and fun memories of you and our little music room crew. From singing Phantom of the Opera at the top of our voices to you shouting Buttscratcher at the top of your voice across the village.

I'll never forget the day you gave me the nickname "Biffa" because I ate so much I was a bin. But not just any bin, a pretty bin, a Biffa bin. I still think of you when  ever I see one and I always will. 

You were so talented in so many ways. You could be handed any musical instrument and given a few minutes you'd be playing it like a pro. You loved science as much as you loved music. You'd always say how you dreamt of one day becoming a doctor, a future that has now been taken away. A future you deserved.

I wish that I'd made the effort to stay in contact with you more over these past three years since we went our separate ways after school. Now it's too late. I'm sure you're up there looking down on us and I hope you can see all the amazing messages that have been left for you. You made a mark on this world that can never be taken away. You will be missed.

Love Biffa x

Today has made me truly appreciate the life that I've been given. From the birth of a cousin to the death of a friend it really puts it all into perspective. Never take what you have for granted because you never know when it all might end.

Sorry this has been such a sad post but I needed to get my feelings out somewhere and this felt somewhat more private than if I were to post it on Facebook as ironic as that sounds. 



October 31, 2013

NOTM: Halloween Edition

I think I'm probably the only person on the planet who's not that big of a fan of Halloween but as all my friends were getting excited I thought I'd at least attempt to get into the spirit of things by doing my nails.

I wanted something simple but that was still pretty obviously Halloween inspired and felt like this was the perfect combination. Unfortunately I can't take credit for this look. That instead should go to Lauren over at cover shoot who made a post of many different possible Halloween looks. To read her post click here.


I started off with 2 coats of Block Orange by Barry M to provide a Pumpkin inspired base and then I topped it of with a coat of Confettis by L'Oreal. I absolutely love this top coat, it's the perfect way to add interest to almost any polishes you already have.


I love this look, it's the perfect nod to Halloween but I think it's also totally wearable throughout autumn.

What are you guys doing to celebrate Halloween? Any crazy costumes lined up?

October 27, 2013

My First Time Tag

The first time tag is one that has been circulating the blogosphere for a while and so I thought I'd finally give it a go. However, as it was actually started by Sprinkle of Glitter over on YouTube i thought it would be more appropriate to tackle the tag on video.


I actually really enjoyed having a little reminisce about various firsts throughout my life from my first memory to my first car, so I hope you enjoyed it too. If you haven't already done this tag you definitely should! 

October 26, 2013

So Much Cambridge Cuteness

I know that the vast majority of the population don't care all that much about the fact that it was Prince George's Christening on Wednesday or they at least care a normal human amount. I on the other hand...and my love for Prince George and his family sky-rocketed about ten minutes ago when I saw this newly released official photo.


I mean honestly, could that picture be any more perfect? I love everything about it. The shear unconditional love that Kate has for George, the adorable look of delight that George has for bring with his Mummy and then the proud William looking down at his beautiful little boy. Even the almost Instagram style filter that seems to have been used just adds to the perfection. Gah. I love this so much! I can't even.

Apologies that this basically turned into me gushing about the Cambridges but I just had to get my feelings out so I hope you don't mind. 

October 21, 2013

5 Colours in Her Hair

About a week ago Vanessa Hudgens debuted her new autumnal ombré look and it ignited a love for brightly coloured hair. I really want to do something fun with my hair because let's be honest if you can't do crazy things with your hear when you're 21, when can you? Plus, having your natural colour at the top equals slightly less upkeep. 

I thought I'd take this opportunity to show you a few of my favourite looks that I've discovered while scrolling through Pinterest for inspiration.

Vanessa Hudgens' amazing autumn inspired do.

Love this look so much especially for the Summer. The only thing that stops me is that I wear a large amount of red which would end up clash horrendously! 

A slightly less in-your-face option but no less awesome! Love these colours so much for winter.

Rainbow hair! I'm not sure I'd have the balls to go for this but I kind of really wish I did because it's just all kinds of amazeballs.

What do you think of the multi-coloured trend that's so popular at the moment? 

October 17, 2013

A Year Abroad: Yes or No?

Yesterday I found out that, despite being in my final year at University, I still had an opportunity to study abroad for a year. This information got me extremely excited as spending a year in the US is something that has always seemed inviting to me.

I came out of the talk about it all extremely excited but now that I've had time to think about it I've realised just how big of a thing this would be for me to do. So, I've decided to run through some of my thoughts on here so as to try to make an informed decision but also so I don't just sit and worry and talk myself out of it just because I'm scared.



Worlds Away: I mean this less in terms of the literal sense and more in the metaphorical. There's about 6 different Universities that I could choose from but all of them would be so different to where I live now. It was a big enough jump for me to move to a city (and when it comes to Bangor, I mean that in the loosest sense of the word) as I grew up in the middle of nowhere and attended a very small school. So, moving to somewhere like New York for a year could be incredibly overwhelming.

Food: I'm a pretty fussy eater, I'm trying to improve but it's slow progress and when I went to Florida in May, my diet basically consisted of chicken or turkey burgers. This is absolutely fine for two weeks but for a year? I've already looked at the food that's on offer in some of the Uni dining halls and it definitely made me concerned that I'd end up living on various forms of potato.

Confidence: This is one of the positives of going. It may be the scariest thing I will ever do in my life but surely if I can prove to myself that I can do that then anything else will be like child's play. At the moment the thought of even going to an interview and starting a new job seems terrifying but I'm sure that if I can stick it out in the States for a year then an interview will seem like a doddle. But on the other hand, if I can't even cope with an interview how am I going to cope with living in a foreign country on my own?

Experience: If you looked at my CV you'd think I'd literally done nothing with my life which isn't too far away from the truth. I've had a very comfortable life and have never really had to set foot outside of my comfort zone and I am yet to fully experience and appreciate what life is like outside of it. When better to start than when I'm not held back by any commitments or just life in general?

Flying: Flying doesn't bother me in the slightest but what does is transfer flights. I've only ever taken a transfer flight once and I was with my school so it was the teacher's responsibility to get me to my next flight not mine. But I think this would be one of those things that once I've done it once it's fine. Before I came to Uni I avoided having to change trains like the plague, now I've done it that often that I actually sometimes choose trains with changes so I can get there faster.

Learning: Because this doesn't involve any transfer of credits I would be allowed to study whatever I wanted, within reason, which is extremely inviting as that is one of the things that I don't like about UK universities; we have to focus on one particular subject from the beginning. However, if and when I go, I'll have completed my degree here at Bangor so I wonder whether I'll actually want to go back to University having handed in my dissertation and got that sense of relief that it's all over and then bam I'm back in a classroom studying for finals.

Make My Mind Up: Spending a year abroad would allow me to have an extra year to really think about and decide what I want to do with my life but again, am I just putting off the inevitable and wasting more time getting an even bigger debt as opposed to just getting a job and starting to actually earn a living?

Destination: My final issue is with choosing specifically which University to go to. I know it's only for a year as opposed to 3/4 but it's still an important decision and there are pros and cons to all of them, for example, Pace University in New York is in a city that I've been to before, it's the closest to home and doesn't require a transfer but it's New York, one of the most populous cities in the world and therefore absolutely terrifying! 

Like I said before, I don't want to talk myself out of going just because I'm a bit scared but I definitely think I'm going to take my time in deciding whether or not this is what I want to do. No matter how you look at it, it's a huge step. I've just got to decide whether it's the right step and/or one I'm ready for.

Sorry for such a long and wordy post but I really needed to just write all of this down somewhere so that I could see straight so I hope you don't mind. If you have any advice for what you think I should do then feel free to let me know in the comments below :)


October 13, 2013

Numbers Don't Matter

It's been almost 3 months since I last uploaded a blog on here and I've decided that I should try and get back into the swing of things.

One of the main reasons I stopped was not because I stopped enjoying writing posts but that I worried to much about how many people were reading them. I was doing the exact same thing with my Youtube channel and it has taken me until now to realise that numbers don't matter. I started this blog so that I had somewhere to put down random thoughts and opinions that I had. If someone came across and liked what I wrote then great but those views should not be my sole reason for blogging. 

I was pressuring myself to upload posts when I didn't have anything to say. This time I'm going to try and ignore the numbers and write these posts for me. If I have something to say then I'll write. I I don't then I won't. That'll probably lead to random waves of posts followed by quiet periods but I don't think there's anything wrong with that. If I want to write, I enjoy it more and ultimately create better posts, or at least I hope I do.

If you read or follow my blog, thank you! It means a lot that someone would take the time to read about my thoughts on things and from now on I promise to appreciate every single view I get whether that be one or one hundred. 

See you soon!

July 29, 2013

Album Review: Stars Dance

I love this album far more than I thought I would. To be honest I'm not sure why I didn't think I'd be that enamoured when I really like all 3 of her "The Scene" albums but still, I was a little uncertain. Despite that, I listened to the iTunes preview and knew straight away that I wanted to buy it and since then I've listened to it a whole lot.

This album definitely feels more sophisticated than her previous albums. My favourite songs are probably "Slow Down" and "Save the Day" but I couldn't really tell you why. I've never been good at explaining why I like songs. Usually how fun they are to sing along to often plays a big factor and these tick that box, especially the do-do-do bit in "Save the Day". Give it a listen and you'll know what I'm talking about.

There are admittedly a couple of weaker songs but then there's not many albums that don't have a few filler songs.  For me "B.E.A.T" and "Birthday" are probably my least favourite songs but that doesn't mean they're bad, they're just not as good as the rest of the album. Although by the looks of the popularity on iTunes they're will be a lot of people who disagree with the latter.

By no means is this album groundbreaking but if you're looking for a fun album that you can dance and sing along to then this is for you. Selena isn't taking herself seriously, she's not trying to pass herself off as some insane vocalist, cause lets be honest her vocal chords would be no match against Beyoncé or Adele, but she is having fun and producing good songs which for me is often what's more important.

If you want to preview the album in it's entirety you can do by clicking here.

What do you think of Selena's latest musical offering? 

July 26, 2013

Butterflies




Yesterday the sun was out yet again and so were the butterflies. There was absolutely loads flocking to one particular plant int the garden so I decided to crack out the ol' camera and take a few snaps of these beautiful animals.


July 24, 2013

Prince George Alexander Louis

Unfortunately Will and Kate did not grant my wish of going for something a little bit unexpected for the name of their son but that aside it's still nice to be able to finally put a name to the face. 

HRH Prince George of Cambridge
What was slightly unexpected was the lack of a fourth name as both Prince William and Prince Charles have four names.

I've always like names so I thought I'd have a little look into the new little Prince's names.

George
A classic name for a future King. We've had 6 King George's including the little guys Great Great Grandfather, the Queen's father, George VI. George is also the name of the patron saint of England.

George means "farmer" or "earth worker" which is a smidge ironic what with Prince George being well, a prince.

It's also a Harry Potter name so win!

Alexander
This is apparently a common name on the Middleton side of the family but it could also be a nod to the Queen as Alexandra is one of her middle names. 

Alexander means "defending men" which seems quite apt seeing as he'll one day be Defender of the Faith.

Louis
One of Prince William's middle names, this is very meaningful to the Windsors as it was the name of Lord Louis Mountbatten, Prince Charles' Uncle, who was assassinated by the IRA in 1979.

Louis is from the German name Ludwig meaning "famous warrior".

What do you think of the little Prince's name? What would you have chosen if you were Kate?

July 23, 2013

Best Video Ever

This is quite possibly one of the best and funniest videos ever made but then when James Corden has helped to write it you can't expect anything less really.


The highlight has to be Zayn dressed as "the sexy assistant" Veronica and not only that but Harry then dancing with "her" and being completely unable to keep a straight face let alone a sexy face. Also, anyone else think that when Harry's dressed up he looks freakishly like Gok Wan?

Admittedly when a video is so much about the story going on, that has squat to do with the song, you do find that you don't really notice the song but having heard it on it's own already I have to say it's, in my opinion, the best single since What Makes You Beautiful. It's also as catchy as. It's literally been stuck in my head constantly since I first heard it.

If haven't already, check out the directional frivolity by clicking here.

Next up One Direction: This Is Us in 3D otherwise known as 5 guys pissing about and occasionally having a sing song in front of a couple thousand people. Sounds good to me!

What do you thing of Best Song Ever and it's video? Anyone else secretly, or not so secretly, excited for the movie?


July 22, 2013

It's A Boy!

Congratulations to The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on the birth of their new son!


He was born at 4.24pm, and weighed in at 8 lbs 6 oz and is now third in line to the throne of the United Kingdom and 15 Commonwealth realms. No pressure little guy.

I have to admit it all felt a little anti-climatic when it was announced that it was a boy what with all the law changes that happened but still it's a very special occasion and a day that will go down in history.

We won't find out the name until at least tomorrow but I'm really hoping that they go for something a little bit unexpected. I'm not talking crazy or anything just something that hasn't been used in the Royal Family before but I'm guessing they'll probably play it safe.

I can't wait to see the little guy for the first time when they leave hospital in the next day or so.

Welcome to the world Baby Cambridge!

July 21, 2013

Catching Fire

During the final day of Comic Con this year the brand new full length theatrical trailer for Catching Fire was shown and holy shit does it look amazing! Catching Fire was not my favourite book of the series but it seems that film makers have taken the source material and upped the anti a good few notches. 


Something that particularly stood out for me in the trailer was that despite the fact that the main role of this movie is to basically set up for the final instalment it still looks like it's going to massively griping and exciting throughout as we see the rebellion start to pick up. This is just the Hunger Games anymore and it's not just about whether Katniss survives or not.

I also have to say that Jennifer Lawrence looks amazing in this movie particularly during the short glimpse of the victors parade. Finnick isn't too hard on the eyes either.

For me The Hunger Games has helped to partially fill the gap that has been left by the lack of any new Harry Potter films. I can't wait for this to hit the screens in November. I loved the first movie and I often find that in these sort of franchise movies the sequels tend to surpass the original due to the bigger scale and bigger budget so I'm sure Catching Fire is gonna be just as good as the first if not better.

Unfortunately I can't imbed the trailer here so to check it out click here.

Are you excited for Catching Fire? Do you think it'll be better than the original? Let me know! 

July 20, 2013

Cory.

I'm sure most of you are aware that last week Cory Monteith passed away. Some of you may not really care but to all the Gleeks, myself included, it was pretty devastating news to wake up to on a Sunday morning.


Finn was never my favourite character on Glee but I still really liked him and his loss is going to leave a gaping hole in the show. Any tribute episode they do for Cory is going to be all kinds of emotional to watch and I honestly feel for Lea Michele and the rest of the cast having to film it.

Anyway, as I said, I'm a Gleek and in honour of Cory I thought I'd put together a little playlist of my favourite Finn performances. I hope you enjoy it. 


And last but not least, where it all began just over 4 years ago.
Don't Stop Believing


RIP Cory. You will be missed.


July 05, 2013

June Playlist 2013

Am I the only who genuinely cannot believe that it's July already? It doesn't seem 5 minutes ago that we were basking in Olympic glory yet that was nearly a year ago! Anyway onto what I've been listening to throughout the month of June.

Please Don't Say You Love Me - Gabrielle Aplin
Dance Your Pain Away - Agnetha Fältskog
Something That We're Not - Demi Lovato
Stars - Mark Owen
Only Teardrops - Emmelie de Forest
We Can't Stop - Miley Cyrus
5:15 - Bridgit Mendler
Neon Lights - Demi Lovato
Pompeii - Bastille
Panic Chord - Gabriella Aplin

This month I have hands down fallen in love with Gabrielle Aplin's debut album English Rain. I first gave it a listen on iTunes and wasn't actually that taken by it but decided to buy it when my Mum said she wanted it too and I'm so glad that I did! It's not necessarily an album I'd listen to in isolation but then again I don't particularly enjoy listening to albums period. I've gotten too used to shuffle. But that's what I like about Gabrielle, her songs stand out in the endless stream of pop and glee that inhabits 80% of my iPod yet at the same time it's not worlds away. I can still sing along to it which after all is one of the most important aspects for me when it comes to liking a song.

Two other albums I've really been liking are Demi Lovato's newest release "Demi" and Agnetha Fältskog of ABBA fame's return to the world of music, "A". "Demi" is classic, well, Demi. She's stuck to what she does best and if it ain't broke. If you love a bit of Dancing Queen then you're sure to like "A", it defintely has that classic ABBA feel despite not being written but Benny and Bjorn but it suits Agnetha as she is now a little more reserved and mature.

What songs have you been listening to this month? I'd love some recommendations so let me know in the comments below!

June 27, 2013

WTF Wednesday at Wimbledon

Apologies for the slightly crude title but for any of you who follow the goings on over at SW19 will know that some crazy shit that went down yesterday. For those of you who don't, you're missing out!


There had already been a shock exit during Round 1 when the number 4 seed Rafael Nadal lost to Steve Darcis but that was child play compared to the calamities that went down during Round 2. 7 players were forced to withdraw due to injuries throughout the day including some highly seeded players such as Victoria Azarenka (2) and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (5). 

Half way through the day and Number 2 seed Maria Sharapova was beaten by Portuguese Qualifier Michelle Larcher de Brito. She blamed the slipperiness of the court but many of the other players said that the conditions were no worse than they normally are during the first week of the tournament.  In my opinion I think it was a case of a bad workman blaming his tools but then I might be biased as I've never particularly liked Sharapova. 

Later on in the day came the ultimate WTF moment when 7 time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer was beaten by world number 116 Sergiy Stakhovsky. The match was amazing to watch and to give credit where credit is due, Stakhovsky played extremely well and in the end I felt he deserved the win. 

In total, 12 seeded players saw their campaign for the WImbledon title come to an end. But all was not lost as somewhere in the mist of it all Andy Murray sailed through his 2nd Round match against Lu Yen-Hsun. I really hope the Djokovic gets through so that if Murray makes it to the final he has some decent competition so that if, and this one's a big if, he were to win people don't start spouting off that he only won because all his competition were already out. And to be honest who's to say, if Stakhovsky can beat Federer, that he can't beat Murray. Hopefully he can't but still, the statement holds true.

2013 is definitely fast becoming a very exciting year at Wimbledon and apparently unlucky for the seeded players. Fingers crossed that Murray is not another casualty but either I can't wait to see how it all pans out!

June 17, 2013

A New Addition to the Family


At 7.30 in the morning on the 8th June my beautiful new cousin was born. I finally got to meet her yesterday and I couldn't get over how freakin' adorable she is. She's the first new member of the family in twelve years so for once I get to enjoy her as a baby and I can't wait to get to know her. Welcome to the world Imogen!


June 12, 2013

Book Review: Suddenly Royal

Synopsis: Samantha Rousseau is used to getting her hands dirty. Working toward a master’s degree in wildlife biology while helping take care of her sick father, she has no time for celebrity gossip, designer clothes, or lazy vacations. So when a duchess from the small country of Lilaria invites her to dinner, Samantha assumes it’s to discuss a donation for the program. The truth will change the course of her life in ways she never dreamed.

Alex D’Lynsal is trying to keep his name clean. As crown prince of Lilaria, he’s had his share of scandalous headlines, but the latest pictures have sent him packing to America and forced him to swear off women—especially women in the public eye. That is, until he meets Samantha Rousseau. She’s stubborn, feisty, and incredibly sexy. Not to mention heiress to an estate in his country, which makes her everyone’s front-page news.

While Sam tries to navigate the new world of politics and wealth, she will also have to dodge her growing feelings for Alex. Giving in to them means more than just falling in love; it would mean accepting the weight of an entire country on her shoulders.

If there were a time and a place for the phrase, "don't judge a book by it's cover", this would be it. In fact, the cover of Suddenly Royal is quite frankly, rubbish and cheap. The cover along with the equally naff title makes it look like a book for a 12 year old and trust me this book is not for kids. What lies within this dodgy cover is a well written and extremely enjoyable story.

I found Suddenly Royal when I was having a nose through Amazon, trying to find some reads for my holiday. This popped up and as it was about royalty and only 79p I thought I could take the risk. Even if it was as bad as the cover suggested it wasn't like I'd be wasting a huge sum of money. Best 79p I've ever spent.

The thing I actually loved the most about Suddenly Royal is that the protagonist is not 16, she's an adult. I found it extremely refreshing considering the amount of YA novels I've read over the years. It was an adult novel with a feel of YA which suited me perfectly. And believe me when I say this is an adult book. There are some pretty steamy scenes part way through, tasteful, but steamy. 

All of the characters where extremely likeable, even Sam, which is rare as I usually find there's one or two characters that bug me. Sam is very witty, churning out a good number of real laugh out loud lines. Alex, is the classic charming prince with a side of cocky that some how makes him even more likeable. He's not perfect but he's damn close. 

My only minor gripe with the whole book was a few inconsistencies with some of the stuff to do with royalty for example swapping within a few lines between "Your Majesty" and "Your Highness" to refer to the Queen. These little things probably wouldn't bother most but I found it a little annoying at times. Luckily it's only occasionally.

I'm not saying this is some break-trough piece of literature but if you're looking for a light-hearted romance that includes not only a charming prince but a well written and well thought out storyline then this is a book that you should defiantly check out. Also, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this was a first in a series so I look forward to reading more of the adventures of Prince Alex and Duchess Rousseau.