American Monsters quick review

I loved the ending! ... Sort of. (Oh, major spoilers).

I loved that Amber got everything she wanted. She might have lost a few things along the way, but she accomplished the three things on her list. I liked the ending because of that and because her and Kelly and Glen (Yey! Glen is okay!) are all together and fighting the monsters.

It's one of the few books were I've actually got very little to complain about. There's just one... Very small... Thing...

I feel like, if Derek Landy read my previous post, he'd get to the paragraph about Milo and Amber's relationship and just laugh. He'd be laughing because, when I wrote that, I was so completely oblivious of what was to come. I even joked about it! I actually joked about hoping nothing would happen! And look what happened!

Because the one thing I am definitely not happy about... is Milo.

And that's all I'm going to say.

American Monsters first impressions

Okay, so I'm 168 pages in, so it isn't really first impressions, but oh well. I meant to stop earlier, but cliff-hangers got the better of me. I've stopped now because I just finished chapter 22 and OH MY GOODNESS! I've never been so annoyed at a book before. Well, I have, but this makes it high up the list and I just had to stop now or I never would.

I've got my little notes here, ready to type away...

So this book is definitely smaller than Desolation. I've not got Demon Road handy to compare it to, but it I much smaller than the sequel. And there seems to me like there's a lot of questions to answer before the end (though one which I did have has already been addressed in chapter 22): what's the deal with Milo and Demoriel? What happened to Kelly and her group? Could there be books based on those two? Milo's past and their adventures? What's going on with Glen? There's a lot of unresolved things that better be addressed by the end of the book because I hate it when things are left hanging in a series that isn't going to be continued.

I'm liking the plot so far. I like that we've had a look into Amber's job with the Shining Demon and how that works and I like that we've seen where she's at with her parents. I'm also liking the sort of flashbacks to her brother, though I don't really understand it, so hopefully that will be explained, too.

As I've said before, I love Amber and Milo's relationship. I love that Milo is so devoted to helping Amber. He mentions money again, and states that he's not there for the money, and that he's there to help her. He also offers to let Betty kill him, so Amber can get revenge on her parents: "I shoot him, she shoots me. You can get her then." He then offers again: "I think if I shoot him... and she shoots me, you can get her then." It's sort of an unhealthy relationship, though. Like, Amber agreed to be the representative to save Milo... that's obviously a huge thing to do. And he offered to die so she could get her revenge. But they are so close and I'm so glad they have each other... I hope nothing happens... Oh God, something's going to happen, isn't it?

The relationship between Amber and the Charger is also something that's been made obvious over the books. It's weird that it's able to prefer certain people, but in a good way. I like that it has a special connection to Amber, and that it has accepted her.

Oh! And the trucker guy that's after them! Looking forward to seeing where that goes.

The humour and jokes, as always with Landy's writing, are perfect for my sense of humour. I'm such a plonker, I laugh at anything, but I just find it so funny. Like when they're in the cornfield and this happens:
"Do you miss it?"
"Corn?"
"School?"
I just find it funny...

And finally... I'm pretty sure Derek Landy is a Supernatural fan. Am I the only one that has noticed while reading these books? Maybe it's just me being such a massive fan of the show, but I've seen so many references that seem so obvious to me stretched out over all of the books. Maybe it's just me? But it seems like too many times to be coincidence. Like, I just happened to relate all of these things back to Supernatural? But it seems like his kind of show? I don't know.

Anyway, loving American Monsters so far. Really annoyed at how chapter 22 just ended! But we'll see how it goes, and see if my many, many questions are answered!

Looking forward to Skulduggery series 2!

Alice Through the Looking Glass

Hello

So, I love movies. Movies and books and TV shows are everything to me. They're all I want to fill my time with. I love adventures and beautiful make-believe worlds. I've mentioned it loads before, but my favourite series is made up completely of a world unknown to normal humans, but it is huge and worldwide and filled with magic.

They're my favourite stories. The ones with magic and things that aren't possible in this world, but that have been made up in someone's head. I love that people think of these wonderfully ridiculous things, and make them real through writing. I love reading it and living in these people's worlds just for a little while, and seeing what they've thought up.

When I write, I write about adventures that I would love to go on. I write about things that I would love to happen to me, people I would love to meet and places I would love to visit. I write about things that I could never do, but can make possible in my stories.

That's what I love about Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass. I love that she is able to go to this beautiful and crazy world. I love the characters she meets and that she goes on these incredible adventures that could never happen in her real world, but that she gets to live in Underland. And I get to go with her.

I especially love the characters. Alice herself is great because she's a strong female lead and I love that she gets things done and I love that she believes so strongly that anything is possible. The Hatter, of course, is my favourite. I love the way they made him look, with the too big eyes and bright hair. Time wasn't how I expected him to be from watching the trailer, he was better than I thought and not as mean. He basically spent the whole movie trying to save everyone by putting back what Alice stole, because really Alice did put everyone in danger to save the Hatter's family. I also forgot that Andrew Scott made an appearance until I saw him. And of course, me being a huge Sherlock fan, I totally flipped out and gushed over him for the entire time he was on the screen.

I've seen so many rubbish reviews about this movie. It was rated 30% on Rotten Tomatoes. But I couldn't care less about what the reviews are saying. I loved the movie. I loved the story and the characters as much as the first one. I loved seeing a younger Hatter and learning about the background of the Red Queen, and why she is the way she is.

I suppose these critics must know better than me, they've been watching movies and reviewing them for much longer than I have. I'm just a 17 year-old girl who loves to get swept away in the story. For me, Alice Through the Looking Glass was as amazing and entertaining as the first, and they both make it high up my list of favourite movies. Basically, if you loved the first one, then I think you'll love the second.

There was also a dedication at the end to Alan Rickman, which I really wasn't expecting. He voiced the caterpillar, Absolum, and the little message at the end was just a perfect way to remember him and the loss of such an amazing actor.

I think I've made it clear by how many times I've written 'I love' throughout this post about how I feel about this movie.

Never stop fangirling (or boying, whichever you prefer) :)

Good-bye

July favourites

Hi!

I meant to get this post up earlier, but other things kept getting in the way.

Everybody does this. A monthly favourites thing. It's done a lot on YouTube, but I don't have a YouTube account (yet... I have considered it).

So, here are some of the things I liked during/about July!

Desolation

Desolation is the second book in the Demon Road trilogy by Derek Landy. It carries on the story of Amber as she drives across the country to outrun the Hounds of Hell.

It's actually a pretty good book. Usually middle books annoy me, but Desolation was great. The relationship between Amber and Milo is one of my favourite things! Similar to that of Skulduggery and Valkyrie's in Landy's other series, the two are close and work well together. Milo is no longer getting paid to help Amber. He is there completely of his own free will. I don't think the Hounds are chasing him? He could have ditched Amber at any point, but he chose to stay. That's what I love. He's there for no other reason other than that he cares about Amber and wants to help her.

There's so much more I could say, but I don't want to ruin it for potential readers. The book is a perfect sequel, and I can't wait for the third.

London

At the start of July I was in London. I loved it and didn't want to come home. It's such a beautiful place! I've been to London a few times now, and I've seen all the tourist things and shopped on Oxford Street and been on the Underground. But this time seemed different somehow. We went on the open top bus tour and it was so relaxing just to sit on this bus and be shown all the different spots and be told about the history. Then it started to rain... but we didn't care. My mum and sister sat behind me underneath an umbrella and I put on my jacket, still snapping away with my camera.

It was just an amazing holiday. But if I went back I would want to go either alone or with friends. Being with my mum and sister meant that I couldn't do the things that I wanted to do that they didn't. I want to go to all the markets and book stores and the little places that are sort of hidden away from the bustle of the city. So it's a definite for me to go back.

It's a beautiful city, and I would move there in a heartbeat if I had the chance. I love the busy streets and the history. I want to travel, but I also want to live on a farm and have horses and animals, but I also want to live in a big city...

Pandora rings

I love my Pandora rings! I wear them every day I'm not at work. I just think they're so pretty and comfortable. The top is the July birthstone (I think), and isn't actually my birthstone, but I knew it would go perfectly with the ring I already had. The one on the bottom I got for my birthday. I think they go so great together and at the moment they're my favourite piece of jewellery (not including my necklace, which will always be special to me). I love them!

Disney Life

My next favourite thing from July is Disney Life. It's basically Netflix but with all things Disney. I used the month free trial and loved it! It has all the movies, all the TV shows, everything! The one thing I will say about it, is that it has a section for Marvel, but none of the Marvel movies. But apart from that it seems to have everything. I watched Kim Possible from the start, Eight Below (which I used to watch when I was younger and was so glad they had) and Home on the Range, among loads of other things.

It's the perfect thing for all Disney lovers. And at just £9.99 per month, it's pretty cheap.

Skulduggery Pleasant

Last, but far from least, is my favourite book series ever: Skulduggery Pleasant! This book series tops my favourite list for a billion reasons. One, as an example, is that the humour is perfect for me. Skulduggery is so sarcastic and snarky and he constantly makes me laugh. I don't even care that it's a children's book series. The way it's written and some of the things that happen make it seem, to me, as if it's meant for older kids, the ones sort of verging on the edge of YA. I can't put into words how I feel about this series and the reason it makes the list this month...

He's bringing it back! Derek Landy is writing a second series of my beloved books! I cried, I laughed, I might have peed a little with excitement. It can't come soon enough!

(Just because I'm a fangirl, and in proper fangirl fashion, I'd like to express my dream to play the part of Valkyrie if these books were turned into movies. I don't care how annoying it is for me to say, but that would genuinely be like... ugh!)

So! There's my favourites things from July! These are just some of the things I have enjoyed from last month and hopefully I'll be able to do something like this for every month!

Let me know if you have any opinions on anything in the list!

Bye!