Kirstiekins Blogs: 2018

ONE WOULD THINK THE DEEP - CLAIRE ZORN || REVIEW

Monday

A couple of weeks ago I was sent a copy of One Would Think the Deep from the lovely people at Ransom books. Originally published in Australia back in 2016, OWTTD has finally graced the presence of U.K shores, and I honestly cannot wait for you to read it.

One Would Think the Deep is Claire Zorn's third novel, she is a YA superstar having won many Australian literary awards. Ransom Publishings newest YA imprint, Raven Books, are excited about their newest addition, and after reading it, I am too.

Wednesday

Now that Autumn is officially here (and there are less than 100 days until the big C) there is only one thing on my mind... Christmas. I absolutely love the run-up to Christmas, everything is so festive and the smells that fill the air are to die for; food, candles, Gingerbread Lattes, the list goes on.

A few years ago, my cousin and I took a trip out to Vienna so we could wander around the Christmas Markets, and experience some of what Austria has to offer in the winter. If you have never been to a Christmas Market, then you are seriously missing out.

Monday

As some of you may know, I have been attempting to redecorate my office space for some time now. I started the process last summer when I began to throw out loads of junk I didn't need or want anymore, I then grabbed some old paint from the shed and revamped the walls. The walls were an awful bright yellow colour so the pastel green and purple are definitely a welcome change!

My office space is actually in my loft, and if anything, it is more of a junk room that I have claimed a corner of, however with all the old furniture that has been piled up there, I am sure I can convert it into the office of my dreams!

Tuesday

Everywhere I look at the moment, I am inundated with wedding photos. It seems as if the world and its mother are all getting married - people younger than me, people that have only known each other for five minutes; meanwhile I am edging closer to thirty, and I am yet to find someone that I can tolerate being around for more than ten seconds.

I would love to get married, but the older I get the more I start to believe that it is never going to happen. I am a socially awkward weirdo who would rather spend all her time inside... it's hard to meet new people when you don't venture outside your own comfort zone very often.

Even though I am probably going to die alone, surrounded by cats and piles of unread books, I still can't help but want to plan my dream wedding. I have a whole bunch of ideas, and as I am probably never going to get married, I invite you all to scroll through this post of fantasy and pretend you are at the worlds greatest wedding.

Monday

I was a little nervous about posting my last book review. I didn't enjoy the book - nor was I overly keen on the writing style. I didn't want to bash the book, because no book, no matter how terrible deserves to be bashed. It takes great skill to be able to sit down and write a novel from start to finish, and everyone who manages to do this deserves to be commended. If it was easy, I would have done it by now, haha!

The thing is, although I didn't want to bash the book, I didn't want to praise it either.

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Today I am welcoming Claire Ayres and Entrapped to Kirstiekinsblogs! Thank you to Jenny and Neverland Blog Tours for giving me the opportunity to break out of my reading habits, and read something new - I would never have read this on my own, but I am glad I did.

Scroll down to the end of this post for your chance to win a signed copy of Entrapped!

Friday

Thanks to 4music, I have been watching copious hours of my favourite show of the 90's, Charmed. I know all the episodes line by line - but that doesn't stop me from gaining something new everytime I watch them. The most recent episode I watched, Lucky Charmed, features a storyline where Pheobes boss forces her into trying online dating so she can write about it in her column, however, Pheobe has some reservations about trying it, similar reservations as to what any late 90's early 00's viewer would undoubtedly hold. But that got me thinking, do these reservations hold up nearly two decades since the episode first aired?

Saturday

Living in London is definitely not good for my waistline. It seems as if there is a new restaurant or cafe opening every week, and of course, I want to try them all! Whether you are into chains, boutique type 'pop-ups', street food, foreign cuisine, or elaborate desserts, there is something for everyone.

Here are a few of my favourite places to eat when I am out and about in London.

Wednesday

Today I have a feature blog post for you, I have recently been talking with some of the people over at Healthlabs.com, and learning all about their vegan health tests. The vegan health tests are not only designed to help vegans figure out if their bodies are lacking in any nutrients, but are also designed to help others work out if they have any underlying allergies, and if adopting veganism can help combat the symptoms.

Before we go any further, I will admit to you that I am not a vegan, but I am a big supporter of the vegan lifestyle - I am completely against animal cruelty, animal testing, and killing animals for no good reason (what good reason is there?) The thing is, that doesn't stop me from eating meat.

I try to live my life as cruelty free as possible, that is in every way except diet. I have tried veganism but if I am being honest I just couldn't hack it - I tried, I really did but after a few months I felt incredibly sluggish, low, and constantly lacking in energy. That was until I caved and found myself in a Burger King devouring a big fat cheese burger. I felt incredibly bad, but my insides felt incredibly good.

Thursday

Yes.

Well for me it is anyway... sort of.

THE NOWHERE GIRLS - AMY REED || BOOK REVIEW

This past week I have been reading The Nowhere Girls, a book I picked up during my April Book Haul

The Nowhere Girls is a book that everyone should read - it not only features a diverse range of characters, but it focuses on a number of issues that are prominent in the world we live in today. It delivers a powerful message about consent and shows that even the most unlikely people are able to make a difference.

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Trigger Warning: Rape and sexual assault, slut shaming, and, homophobia

Monday

Whoops.

As some of you may know, at the beginning of the year I put myself on a six-month book ban meaning that I was not allowing myself to purchase or acquire any books until June 25th. The idea behind it stemmed from wanting to read more of the books I actually own rather than keep buying new ones.

I am honestly surprised that I made it this far without breaking, I thought I would only be able to go a month, so making it to almost four and a half is definitely impressive.

I would like to thank the good people at Waterstones Uxbridge for helping me through this relapse, and when I say helping I mean, recommending more books and the encouraging me to buy them all in a single transaction. I would also like to thank the many publishers at the London Book Fair that just kept giving me books!

I suppose there are worse habits, it's not as if I am snorting coke or anything.

So which books have recently come to live at Casa du Kirstie then? Let's find out!

Friday

Forget jewellery and flowers, baked goods are the way to this girls heart! That's why I could not have said yes quick enough when The Polish Bakery* got in touch, wanting to send me some of their yummy breads and cakes to review!

Thursday

If you have been following me for a while, you will know that I am definitely not a baker - I have attempted to bake many things in the past, and I have failed at pretty much all of them! That being said, one of my resolutions for February was to 'try new things' so I dusted off my baking shelf and set to work on finding something that was pretty much impossible to fuck up. I chose Banana Bread!

PRETTY LITTLE THINGS COVER REVEAL

I am really excited to be able to share with you all the cover of Pretty Little Things, a new novel by Tania Walsh.

T.M.E Walsh, best known for the DCI Claire Winters series has been working hard to bring us her latest novel, and from what I already know, it sounds amazing!

I love this cover - the yellow against the blue is a real contrast, and can we take a moment to talk about that tagline!! Definitely can't wait to add this to my TBR list!

Wednesday

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Despite living in London, it is very rare that I treat myself to a trip to the theatre, and even then, I tend to go for more mainstream plays, or something that I have seen countless times before (I'm looking at you Wicked) however, a few weeks ago, when walking down (or up... or possibly along) Tottenham Court Road I noticed an advertisement for a play that had pretty much flown under my radar. In big bright letters, shining out towards me as I was looking for food, The Exorcist!

Sunday

Late last year I was approached by Pure Pet Food and was offered the opportunity to try a unique style of pet food. After doing some initial research I decided that I had nothing to lose and agreed to test it out on my little furbabies.

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Pure Pet Food is entirely dehydrated or freeze-dried food (depending on the product you buy), that has been specifically designed for your cat or dog - each pack is filled with the nutrients that your pet needs on a daily basis. Not only that but they have had all of the nasty pathogens and chemicals removed which means your pet's food is good enough for you to eat too! All of their food meets a strict no grain or gluten policy and are high in protein, giving your pet the healthy balanced diet they deserve. I wasn't joking when I said your pet's food is good enough for you to eat too - Pure Pet Food has been certified by both the animal and human food authority, as well as PETA!

Wednesday

Hello, hello, hello! Today I am going to be sharing my first book review of 2018. As part of a blog tour, hosted by the lovely Jennyinneverland, I am going to be reviewing The Eden Paradox*, written by Barry Kirwan.

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I was really excited to be given the opportunity to take part in The Eden Paradox blog tour, the whole premise seems intriguing; and as I am currently planning a potential PhD around the topic of Scifi in literature, reading The Eden Paradox seemed like the perfect form of procrastination!

A lot of Scifi novels involve aliens invading earth and mankind's struggle to defeat them - but what happens when mankind become the 'aliens' that are doing the invading?

"A murder... a new planet mankind desperately needs... a thousand-year-old conspiracy... What really awaits us on Eden? In a world beset by political turmoil, environmental collapse, and a predatory new religion, a recently discovered planet, Eden, is our last hope. But two missions have failed to return. Blake Alexander and his crew lead the final attempt to bring back good news. Meanwhile back on Earth, Micah Sanderson evades assassins, and tries to work out who he can trust as he struggles in a race against time to unravel the Eden Paradox..."

You are plopped right into the middle of the action from the very first chapter, the fast pace makes you forget about how little you know of the dystopian world at your fingertips, instead, you want to know why our current protagonist has murdered someone, and why of all places, he has stuffed him in a ceiling.