GC Chronicles

Europe | Austria & Poland

★ Week Four Itinerary:

Vienna, Austria
Krakow, Poland

Vienna, Austria

Budapest 🚌 Vienna

Vienna, Austria | August 17th – 19th.

The next country on our European tour was selected not just for its proximity to Hungary or because they were once ruled as a singular nation… but because of my love of the film Before Sunrise (if you haven’t seen it then I definitely recommend!).

“If there is any kind of magic in this world it must be in the attempt of understanding someone.”
Before Sunrise

Hopping off the bus in the afternoon, we wandered through the streets of Vienna to our hostel and later enjoyed a falafel and hummus filled salad prepared by yours truly. Kidding I had a nap while N.D made dinner, regardless it was great. 😛

The next day started with us exploring the inner ring of the city and the many sights along the way. Fortunately cars aren’t allowed in this part of Vienna but that didn’t mean I wasn’t dodging bicycles, people and even horses while we trotted around.

The Karlskirche, Albrechtsbrunnen, Helmut Zilk Square, St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Anker Clock, Schweizertor, Josefsbrunnen, Heldenplatz, Goethedenkmal and Austrian Parliament Building were just some of the many sights we gazed at before heading to the Naschmarkt for lunch.

Here you can enjoy an array of culturally diverse food being served from any of the 100+ 16th-century styled stalls and restaurants. Clearly the Hungarian food influences hadn’t left us when we decided on sharing Middle Eastern/Turkish cuisine, the pita was even served in a cute fabric bag. 🙂

In the evening we explored further north of the inner city and saw Fillgraderstiege, Rathaus der Stadt Wien, Beethoven’s House, Liechtenstein Garden Palace and the beautifully illuminated Votivpark.

Just south of the park in Rathausplatz we stumbled across an outside movie theatre and decided to watch the final live performance’s of Falco Symphonic (an Austrian musical hero apparently) and David Bowie (he probably needs less of an introduction 😉 ).

I also enjoyed a nougatschmarrn, well technically we shared it but the portions were maybe a bit unfair haha.

The next and final day in Vienna was spent trotting all across the city. Starting at the Schönbrunn Palace we (really I) frolicked through the various gardens, past the water fountains and statues to marvel at the 18th-century castle and architecture. I loved it!

Later we caught the underground train to the other side of the Danube River and the suburbs of Donaustadt and Floridsdorf.

Here we visited the Hundertwasser House. Having previously lived in Whangārei where the Hundertwasser Art Centre is located and near the famous loos in Kawakawa the visit felt a little bit like home. 🙂

Next we planned to visit the Danube Tower; which at 252 metres tall has been offering panoramic views of Vienna since 1964 and become an icon of the capital. Instead, while traipsing in the heat towards the tower we discovered a theme park and became excitingly distracted.

Our day ended with three vastly different but delicious (well two of them were delicious) activities.

Starting with Café Frauenhuber, established in 1824 it is the oldest coffee house in Vienna and boasts previously hosting Mozart and Bethoven during their performances, now it was serving N.D and I coffee and apfelstrudel… totally the same thing. 😛

Next we enjoyed an Austrian favourite, no no not schnitzel but bratwurst!

With full tums we waddled back to the Hofburg and lounged in the gardens until our overnight bus to different country.

I can’t forget that while in the Austrian capital we also visited a place that has been on my ‘must do’ list for years!!! We went to a Cat Cafe; I was so excited and gave many pats. Even N.D joined in on the feline love.

Kraków, Poland

Vienna 🚌 Kraków

Kraków, Poland | August 20th – 26th.

Unfortunately our seemingly good luck over the past few years in avoiding the virus came an end. By the time we reached Poland after a nine hour overnight bus I was well and truly sweaty and spluttering everywhere. I’ll spare you the specific details regarding my brain fog, fever and sputum to say a hastily but wise decision was made on arrival to extend our Kraków stay and keep me locked away.

The extended stay gave me time to sleep and try keep up my fluids, all while N.D had ample opportunity to explore solo. A variety of walking tours, food tastings and independent missions up various hills were all carried out.

When I finally escaped my sickness cell we crammed in ‘the best bits’ of N.Ds adventures with everything I really wanted to do in Kraków!

First on the agenda was wandering past Kraków Barbican, through St. Florian’s Gate and towards the Old Town.

While walking around:

tales of the legendary Kraków dragon were shared as we passed Smok Wawelski, the Wawel Royal Castle and Wawel Cathedral.
bells rang while we explored around the Town Hall Towers and pursued the many stalls of the 13th-century renaissance styled Cloth Hall market arcade.
the charming cobbled streets paved the way to all of the tasty Polish treats on offer.
a multitude of parks, garden areas, water fountains and ponds were visited while enjoying the former mentioned tasty treats 😉
any Kraków, really Polish tour wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Pope John Paul II. Both a religious icon and Polish hero, despite him not wanting any monuments or statues during his reign, a few can definitely be spied around the Old Town and Jewish Quarter.

A different day saw us venture out to the town of Oświęcim and visit the memorial-museum of Auschwitz-Birkenau. For those of you not aware, during World War II the Polish city of Oświęcim while under Nazi rule became the site of the largest concentration camp in the world; Auschwitz, Birkenau and Monowitz camps. After a failed attempt by the Nazi party and SS squadron to destroy any evidence of such horrendous acts of genocide, the remaining buildings, fallen brick and rumble have been preserved to commemorate and show respect to the millions of lives lost and having suffered at this atrocious place. While usually a picture enthusiast, I felt it was disrespectful to commemorate any aspect of this now UNESCO World Heritage Site given the events that unfolded here. Instead I chose to personally and privately remember the tour day for what it was and should you reading this be interested to research it further yourself.

On our final day in Kraków we ventured past the Old Town and Jewish Quarters to explore an abandoned quarry and a few of the city’s famous mounds. Punkt widokowy na Zakrzówek located within OSTRA GÓRA is one of the cities many hidden gems. A former quarry turned swimming hole became the pinnacle of N.D and I’s cross city hike that day; not only for its turquoise, powdery blue water and lush bush surroundings, but that we could actually go swimming in it! 🙂

While on our many adventures in Kraków we came to learn that the city is famous for it’s many mounds; raised, grassy, usually rounded points of interest to be specific and all offering excellent views.

Some of my favourite mounds (that’s something I didn’t think I’d ever say) include Krakus and Kościuszko.

No tour of a city is complete without trying some local food and that is exactly what our last night in Poland consisted of. A plethora of Polish classics including bigos, gulasz, schabowy, golabki, pierogi and more cabbage (obviously).

Currently we are on a bus headed out of Poland to connect to a train going to a different country. I’ll give you a clue… it’s to another city that has the Danube River flowing through it. 😉

Do widzenia.

Europe | Hungary

★ Week Two & Three Itinerary:

Budapest, Hungary

Budapest, Hungary

London ✈ Budapest

Budapest, Hungary | August 7th – 17th.

Leaving England we flew to Budapest, Hungary for one main reason: Sziget Music Festival.

Arriving on a Sunday we had three days of exploring the city of Budapest before the six day festival started.

If you’re not a history, geography, random facts or travel buff then you’ve probably never wondered where Budapest got its name… but if you have then look no further than 1873. Prior to this year the three cities of Buda, Óbuda (old Buda) and Pest existed separately across both side of the Danube River, linked only via the Chain Bridge (constructed in 1849). For many reasons I shan’t go into (it would take my entire blog post to explain) they were unified in 1873 forming the Budapest we know today, however despite sharing a name these regions continue to have their own distinct personalities, historical buildings and for N.D and I; places to explore!

Afternoon one started with exploring near our accommodation in Városliget. Containing the Vajdahunyad vára, Sellők díszkút, famous and most photographed Széchenyi Thermal Baths and Ötvenhatosok tere; there’s something for everyone in this park. 🙂

I especially liked the Vajdahunyad vára/castle which expands across a large area of the park, appears magical in an enchanting-esque way, allows anyone to wander through it at their own leisure, read about its history and is entirely free!

We also found there were heaps of food stalls and bars to cater to an always hungry N.D. Plus they sold stylish reusable cups that I may have become a little obsessed about collecting. 😉

Hősök tere/Heroes’ Square which is situated across from the park is part of an UNESCO World Heritage Site and contains statues of the seven tribe leaders whom founded Hungary.

We ended our evening walking through the Mőcsényi Mihály botanikus kert and atop the Néprajzi Múzeum/Museum of Ethnography which contains a sloped roof garden.

The next day we wandering through the waterfront region on the Pest side of the Danube. With its convivial, lively atmosphere, abundance of trendy cafés, restaurants and numerous historical buildings we had a jam packed day!

Starting at the Budapest Inner-City Mother Church of Our Lady of the Assumption we trotted from church to bridge, from bridge to park, from park to museum and then back to another church and so on. Switching out museums for government buildings, parks for cafes or tasty treats and church’s for water features we marvelled at all of Pests sights. By nightfall they were illuminated and we had to see them all over again!

Some of the days sites included the:

Budapest-Belvárosi Nagyboldogasszony Főplébánia-templom
Dohány Street Synagogue
Vigadó tér
Vörösmarty tér
St. Stephen’s Basilica
Fat Policeman Statue
Erzsebet Square and Ferris Wheel
Liberty Square Szabadsag ter containing the Soviet War Memorial, Ronald Reagan Statue, controversial A német megszállás áldozatainak emlékműve
Monumento de los zapatos/Shoes on the Danube Bank
Országház/Hungarian Parliament Building
Kossuth Lajos tér

My favourite was walking towards St. Stephen’s Basilica; down a long cobbled street with the surrounding buildings perfectly framing the church and as you etch closer the share size of the church captivates you and you realise it’s the same for the hoards of other tourists around.

We both also really enjoyed the iconic Hungarin building of Országház, a neo-Gothic Hungarian revival that is perfectly symmetrical and an emblem of the city.

Always a fan of varied transport, I was stoked to be able to ride the electric bus service, metro railway, trams and the continental Europe’s first underground railroad (worlds second oldest) opened in 1896. Some of the carriages still look like they’re from that era haha.

We ended the evening with something Pest is famous for; ruin bars. Think of finding an abandoned space between two buildings that’s now eclectic and hip serving craft beers and cocktails, that’s a ruin bar or more specifically Szimpla Kert the bar we visited.

The next morning we left behind the flat side of Pest and crossed the Erzsebet hid/Elisabeth Bridge to Buda. Offering sweeping panoramic views (from all the hills you have to climb) Buda contains the Castle District and the Old City which Budapest may be more well known for.

Starting with a steep, sweaty climb to St. Gerard Sagredo Statue we were sadly greeted with a theme for the day; under construction. Understandably these amazing statues, sculptures and various parts of the city’s history have to be maintained to be enjoyed and viewed for years to come, sadly it was during our visit. But we could still see parts through the scaffolding and we got a hill workout in at least. 😛

As we explored the Buda side, I found myself continuously pointing out the medieval architecture of terraces, rooftops or house decorations, whilst marvelling at the Danube River views across to the Pest side.

The best view across the Danube river we both agreed came from the Dome lookout atop the Art Museum within the castle walls. After exploring the gallery you can climb to the top of the dome on level four and just marvel outwards – well worth it!!!

The fairytale turrets of Fisherman’s Bastion, constructed with seven look-out towers to honour the chieftains who settled their tribes in Hungary, to Castle Hill with its history, atmospheric cobbled streets, ornate Baroque buildings and of course another enchanting castle; everything enthralled me!

Castle Hill and the Hungarian Castle itself is another World Heritage Site inviting people to explore from the brattice surrounding it.

We found ourselves visiting many, many sites that day including:

Gellért-hill and Gellérthegy Jubileumi park
Liberty Statue and Citadella
Garden of Philosophers of renowned thinkers
Kilátókő szobor, Buda királyfi és Pest királykisasszony
Castle Garden
Mace Tower (under construction)
Buda Castle and Hill
Zero Kilometer Stone
Széchenyi Chain Bridge (under construction)
Castle District
Matthias Church
St Stephen Statue
Fisherman’s Bastion
Kolodko: Főkukac miniszobor
Vienna Gate Bécsi kapu
Church of Saint Mary Magdalene

By the afternoon we were exhausted, both physically and weatherly, if that’s not a state of exhaustion it should be! The European summer sun has no mercy.

We decided to venture across one of the many bridges and visit an island. Margit hid to be exact to Margitsziget.

Here we trotted (more like waddled we were still tired and it’s hot) to the water tower, Japanese garden, musical well and musical fountain before finally making our way to Palatinus Strand Baths. The fun thermal pools. 🙂 With its wave pool, water slides and warm water we had an absolute blast.

We crammed in any and everything you could want to see in Budapest into those days… right before the real celebration started. 😉

Sziget Music Festival, Óbudai-sziget | August 10th – 15th.

What made Sziget even better was we were joined for several days by our friends. 🙂 well that and Dua Lipa and Sigrid performed so obviously it was great. 😛

While many, many great acts performed over the six day music festival, across 24 stages, at all hours of the day and night some of our favourites included; Rufus Du Sol, Dua Lipa, Bastille, Kings of Leon, Dublic, Dimension, Justin Bieber, Lewis Capaldi, Calvin Harris, Sigrid, Anne-Marie and Artic Monkeys.

During the time that we weren’t at the festival we caught up with friends, explored other parts of Budapest including the Central Market Hall and Liberty hid/Liberty Bridge and ate. In particular we tried Molnár’s kürtőskalács chimney cakes and traditional Hungarian langos and goulash. We also soaked in the famous Széchenyi Thermal Baths one morning and felt like we made it into everyone’s Instagram photo backgrounds haha. I’m sure they’ll cut us out. 😉

As quickly as the festival started it sadly had to come to an end. N.D and I now find ourselves sitting at a bus station ready to visit our next country.

Viszlát.

TTFN – next stop 3 hours away

Europe | England

★ Week One Itinerary:

Auckland, New Zealand
Portsmouth, England
Leicester, England
Cambridge, England

Auckland, New Zealand

Auckland ✈ Singapore ✈ London

We made it!

After…

25 hours flying.

4 hours busing.

11 hours waiting.

We finally made it to Portsmouth, UK; the first place on our Europa travel.

Portsmouth, England

London 🚌 Portsmouth

Portsmouth, England | July 27th – August 1st.

From Auckland to Portsmouth travel was actually a breeze. The flights ran on time, there were no virus testing qualms at the airports, the bus stopped in London City allowing us to walk to see my favourite bridge (Albert bridge) and I even managed to sleep on all three legs of the journey. Success I’d say!

Portsmouth is a city with a rich maritime heritage, historic dockyard and Victorian style architecture. It’s also a place we have both visited before and were now returning to for one lovely reason; Deborah. She very kindly housed, fed and entertained us while we toured Portsmouth and the surrounding region again. Thank you so much Deb!

For those not familiar with Portsmouth I’d recommend you visit the seaside walkway and take a stroll between the various piers. Maybe even consider your luck at the arcade games inside like we did (for several hours). 😛

From South Parade towards Clarence Pier you’ll pass memorials for the battle of Trafalgar, fallen naval soldiers during WW1, WW2 and D-day. We stopped and wandered through King Henry VIII’s Southsea Castle and the Round Tower on our way to Gunwharf Quays.

The Spinnaker Tower is located here and can be spied atop many areas within Portsmouth city, it’s sort of a landmark of the region (well I think at least). We later perused the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard which houses many HMS ships including the HMS Victory, HMS Warrior and the Tudor commissioned warship The Mary Rose which sank in 1545 off the coast.

But no day is complete in a seaside town without an ice cream obviously. 😉

The following day we hovercrafted; yes you read that correctly, we hovercrafted over to the Isle of Wight. What an island! As the largest island in England (excluding the mainland) and located on the other side of the Solent strait it provided a full 14 hours worth of adventure for us.

After exploring Ryde, we bused to Osborne House, through Cowes, lunched in Newport, continued our bus ride west past Carisbrooke Castle, Yarmouth Castle and out to the Needles with the multi coloured cliffs and sand. Trotted up to the Needles viewpoint near the old and new battery, then continued around the southern aspect of the island past the many beaches which were crowded with all English holiday goers. The eastern towns of Ventor and Shaklin amazed us with their fancy decor and incredible sea views (probably of France N.D said), before we passed the Brembridge Windmill and eventually stopped at the Wishing Well gin distillery for a tasting. The day rounded out with dinner in Ryde and a hovercraft back to the mainland. Beau-ti-ful!

I couldn’t go to Osborne House without explaining why this was the highlight of my day! For anyone who hasn’t spent more than 10 minutes with me and inadvertently had me bring up my love of the British Royal Family, then I’ll say it now, I love the royals, in particular the late Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert. So visiting Osborne House couldn’t have been higher on my wish list of activities. To save you a history lesson I’ll instead just include (many) pictures. 🙂 even N.D said he liked the tour around the grounds!

Our final day in Portsmouth saw us trot the Wayfarer and Hayling Billy Line walkways. Starting from Emsworth we trotted around the Chichester Harbour, past several mill ponds, castles and a fort before heading over to Hayling Island. We stopped for fish & chips at the beach then continued around the seaside back to Portsmouth.

Leicester, England

Portsmouth 🚂 Leicester

Leicester, England | August 1st – 5th.

From Portsmouth we trained to Leicester to visit N.Ds family. Amongst sightseeing the city centre with Richard, trotting Bradgate Park with Viv and spending time with Gran we also golfed… a lot!

Mini putt, driving range and a 9-hole course were all completed during our visit. Thank you for all your generosity with tour-guiding, accommodation and time – it was lovely.

Cambridge, England

Leicester 🚂 Cambridge

Cambridge, England | August 5th – 7th.

Cambridge was our final UK stop for the week. Neither of us had been here before and were kindly housed and entertained by N.Ds friend Colin and his partner Robyn. We had a blast!

Punting, exploring, eating, drinking and seeing all the popular sights Cambridge had to offer was great. These included; the various colleges of the University of Cambridge (there are 31 in total), Bridge of Sighs, Corpus Clock, the oldest Round Church, first ever bookshop, Castle Mound, Mathematical Bridge, Darwin’s House, Newtons Tree, Kings College fountain, Scott Polar Research Centre, Kettle Yard, Magdalene Bridge, St Johns Building (and lack of clock face) The Eagle pub and many, many gardens.

Gotta say though… the photos of N.D and I punting with smiles and sunshine don’t show the struggle I had lifting the pole or amount of sweat accumulated. 😛

TTFN – next stop Budapest, Hungary. 🙂

Here we come!

It’s almost Europe time. 🙂

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I’m excited.

Hang on a second, I should probably preface this. For those of you not aware, in a matter of days myself and N.D will be travelling to Europe for the next four months.

Common questions you might be pondering…

WHO? Assuming you already know who I am (if not then “Hi my name is Alex and please check out the rest of my blog”) then you must be wondering who N.D is. He is the same man who joined my Te Araroa adventure and trotted half the length of the country earlier this year, same man who has been traipsing around New Zealand with me working for the past few months and now my future Europa galavanting partner. That or he’s a stalker whose not to bad to look at, pretty funny and enjoys eating fries and drinking beer with me. I don’t mind either. 😉

WHEN? Well as I said before we leave in a couple of days and will be travelling for just over four months.

WHY? While I would love to say this has been a trip with months of planning and years of longing, but it really stemmed from just two things. One: I finished Te Araroa and wanted to keep exploring. Two: New Zealand opened up meaning that while yes we could leave the country we could also (fairly) easily get back home! So why not go to Europe. 😛

WHAT? At this stage the plan is to travel to the UK and visit family, fly over to Budapest for the week long Sziget Music Festival, then who knows! We each have places, activities and exciting things we want to see, do and experience while in Europe. While initially when you tell someone that you are travelling for four months it seems like a long period of time, but actually when you consider visiting an entire continent it’s not. So we are going to focus on going to certain places and ‘doing them well’ as opposed too hopping everywhere quickly.
- Given we are hiking (I will probably still call it trotting), sailing, bridge sight-seeing, surfing, beer drinking and fries consuming enthusiasts you can expect places with these at their forefront to be visited over others.

HOW? We haven’t finalised exactly how we will be getting around, we are more ‘wing-it’ kind of travellers. But I can assume from previous travels abroad that budget airlines, overnight buses and underground tube systems will be in play as well as more scenic train journeys, bike rides, ferry crossings and hopefully a sail or two.

So if this sounds like something you would find interesting or entertaining to read along with then settle in for four months of Europa blog content. 🙂

Hope you (mainly we) enjoy!

TTFN… next stop London.

Also in case you missed the Europa blog contents page – these photos are from my last trip to England, Wales and France in 2014 with my adorable parents… you never quite know what face they will make for a picture 😛

Be like a pineapple

“One life. No do overs. 365 days in a year. Who knows how many years.
Be who you are. Love who you love. Go where you feel most alive”.
Anne Sexton

To say this month has been a lot is an understatement.

There have been accidents near and afar.

Remembrances of those I love and have very sadly lost

Appreciation for those who are still with us as we stand together to support one another.

I have travelled to various places around New Zealand and reconnected with lost friends.

Spending quality time with those who matter most.

I have been inside and cared for those who are sick.

And voyaged outside to care for myself when I felt overwhelmed.

Day in and day out I been reminded of the importance of people and connectedness.

So today I leave you with this…

“Do one thing every day that scares you”.
Eleanor Roosevelt

Wise words from a former first lady and repeated by a life long best friend. 🙂

Fly High C.B!

And if you happen to be reading this… I want Nate, Hannah, Sarah, Brittany, Ella, Gawin, Josie, Keriana, Yuhan, Tubo, Meg and my two lovely parents Kathy and Haydn to know how much you mean to me.

Spending love, hugs and thinking of you always xx

June Yarns

Maybe Not(Maybe, #1.5)

Colleen Hoover

“I don’t want you to change, Bridgette. I’m not in love with who you could be or who you used to be or who the world says you should be. I’m in love with you. Right now. Just like this.”

Funny thing…

I read this book with no context that; 1. it is part of a series. 2. this novel is in fact not the beginning of the series 3. that I would instantly like the (kind of) hatable characters developed in this novel and be able to read about them pre and post this small time period of their lives. So yay. 🙂

This novella was a funny, sexy, snap shot of two flatmates Warren and Bridgette introduced in CoHos first novel Maybe Someday (I read that later this month) and what happened during their pranks, hate, love, general hilarity of time spent together. It’s a short and in the end very sweet read that you can enjoy as a standalone or in order of the series, but if you’re anything like me once you start you will be hooked to know what happens to them next… and who the other flatmates are in the story!

Before We Were Strangers

Renee Carlino

“Everything seems better in a memory.”

I think I liked this. I know that seems odd to say since I am the only one to judge but I am just not sure anymore. At the time I enjoyed reading this novel and wanted to know where this story would go… but looking back on it (ironic given my favourite quote I selected from the novel) I’m not sure I 100% did.

It starts with a man named Matt glancing across a lady on the train who might be Grace, his first love of 15 years ago and the one who ‘got away’. Well there’s more to the story than that but I don’t want to ruin it for you.

Whilst I consider myself to have recently suffered a something-life crisis, this novel gave me hope that everything will eventually work out and you must always try to make the best of the situation you are in. I know that sounds corny but I really appreciate when a story has real-life value.

The contemporary writing style of the novel isn’t usually something I love, instead craving hope, loss or longing of a new world, romance or creepy thriller, but Renee Carlinos style so genuinely captured the complexities of human relationships and desire that I was transfixed and had to find out more. I would be lying if I didn’t admit to feeling a similar loneliness and heartache that these characters experienced on every page. Albeit mine isn’t over a lost 15 year love, thats a little too poetic for my existence.

So actually whilst reflecting on my reading experience with this novel yeah I think I did like it and I hope you do too.

“The present is our own. The right-this-second, the here-and-now, this moment before the next, is ours for the taking. It’s the only free gift the universe has to offer. The past doesn’t belong to us anymore and the future is just a fantasy, never guaranteed. But the present is ours to own. The only way we can realize that fantasy is if we embrace the now.

Maybe Someday(Maybe, #1)

Colleen Hoover

“We try so hard to hide everything we’re really feeling from those who probably need to know our true feelings the most.”

Once again CoHo has captured my heart and emotionally spoiled me with another unique and deeply devastating romance read.

After reading Maybe Not the 1.5 in the series and realising it was in fact a series read I jumped on the ‘Maybe Someday’ bandwagon and read Maybe Someday and Maybe Now back to back… wow.

As usual Colleen Hoover has delivered with her beautiful writing style, thoroughly mapped out stories and richly developed characters that no two CoHo romance reads are the same. Maybe Someday and Maybe Now are no exception to that!

I think not knowing the plot of the novel or this series is part of the experience and what made the book so wonderful for me. So I will leave you with just this… there is a girl named Sydney and a boy called Ridge… 😉

Prepare to except what you typically wouldn’t. To understand what you normally couldn’t.

To see things from a new, unbiased perspective. To leave all judgment at the door while hopping into this book because you will be gifted the opportunity to view both sides of a relationship coin.

“A life of mediocrity is a waste of a life.”

Maybe Now(Maybe, #2)

Colleen Hoover

“Our maybe someday just became our absolutely forever.”

What is more important? Friendship, loyalty or love?

To be honest… Maybe Someday ended kind of perfectly to me and as I am still not the biggest series enthusiast (I have a few exceptions as you know) I would have been happy to stop there. But I’m human and had to know how CoHo saw this ending. While this novel was great and had ‘all the feels’, it was quite cheesy and had many over used life lessons.

I still loved it though haha.

“We shouldn’t revolve our lives around their possible endings. We should revolve our lives around the experiences that lead to the endings.”
“Apologies shouldn’t happen because of the response of the person who was wronged. Apologies should happen because of the wrong”
“But people need to put themselves first sometimes. If you aren’t living your best life for yourself, you can’t be your best self for those in your life.”
“The problem with hating yourself when you’re all alone is that you have no one to remind you of any of your good qualities. Then you just hate yourself even more, until you sabotage anything good in your life and in yourself.”

Olive

Emma Gannon

“You must remember that no decision is ever really the wrong decision. Because it’s the decision you made at the time. Respect your past self and her choices.”

I was suggested to read this novel and after hearing very mixed (mainly negative) reviews about it I am now finding it difficult to pin-point exactly what it is I loved so quickly about it, but hear me out…

The novel Olive introduces her and her three best friends whom are all in their early thirties; Cec who is a lawyer, married and excitedly pregnant with her first child, Bea also married and already a mother of three, Isla who is a therapist and struggling with fertility issues and Olive who is adamant she doesn’t want children and just became newly single as a result of it. The novel explores struggles in friendship, relationships, fertility, careers and societal pressures around the expectation that all women are supposed to have children.

While some may say the novel was un-relatable, awkward, terribly written and quite jarring. I would argue it introduced readers to different experiences surrounding having children in todays age and exploring the pros and cons of choosing to be a parent or choosing to be childless. Given the current state of some countries at this time and that choice being taken away from them you may also argue that thats a very privileged issue. Well yes, but its an issue and one worth exploring none the less.

While I remember being young and pretending to be a mother with a plastic baby, as I’ve grown older I have never felt a desire to have children and have frequently been told my mind will change. What if it doesn’t? If anything, after reading this novel I feel far more certainty over being childless and more at peace with that decision than ever before.

Wish You Were Here

Renee Carlino

“Love is a wordless secret; it’s an inside joke. Only the two of you have to understand it.”

Sadly this book didn’t deliver for me what Renee Carlino’s previous June read did.

This novel follows a girl named Charlotte who works as a waitress in L.A and randomly one night meets a guy named Adam who has recently quit his job as a lawyer to paint full time. They share one night together and the following morning when he begins acting strange she leaves and they lose touch. Seven months later, still hung up on Adam, Charlotte seeks to find out why he was acting so odd and what he is doing now.

While I can agree with most readers and say that this novel is emotional, poignant, and a beautiful story of love, loss, and soul mates. It also is very similar to ‘Me Before You’ and a little too similar for my liking. Unlike Jojo Moyes story, I didn’t feel the chemistry between these two characters and when you can draw so many similarities between the stories it becomes very hard to not compare and pick a favourite. Sorry, this wasn’t it.

Heroes: Mortals and Monsters, Quests and Adventures

Stephen Fry

“If your mind and spirit are directed to your task, everything else will follow. Relax.” “But focus,” said Hermes. “Relaxation without focus leads to failure.” “Focus without relaxation leads to failure just as surely,” said Athena. “So concentrate . . .” said Perseus. “Exactly.” “. . . but calmly?” “Concentrate calmly. You have it.”

LOVED THIS BOOK TOO.

He’s done it again folks!

If you didn’t read my April Yarns when I read the first in Stephen Fry’s Greek Mythology series then I should preface this review by saying that again I listened to Stephen Fry narrate a retelling of Greek Mythology; this time Hero’s edition, using his whimsical voice to enlighten me with these heroic fantastical fables. I should also remind readers that one requires no previous Greek Mythology knowledge to enjoy both Stephen Fry and these incredible tales.

I have gone from a complete Greek Mythology novice to now having favourite gods, goddess’s, demi-gods and geographical Greece knowledge all while being thoroughly entertained. In particular, this novel focuses on the heroic tales of Perseus, Herakles (Hercules), Orpheus, Theseus, Jason, Atalanta and Oedipus.

These books are for everyone. 🙂

“It is the destiny of children of spirit to soar too close to the sun and fall no matter how many times they are warned of the danger. Some will make it, but many do not.”

Night Music

Jojo Moyes

“You are the one honest thing I’ve done in my whole life.”

After reading a similar Jojo Moyes book earlier this month it had me wondering what’s new with Jojo? A statement I am sure we all say. Sadly nothing I haven’t read, so I divulged further into her repertoire of novels, pre her more notable reads of ‘Me Before You’ or ‘The Last Letter from Your Lover’ to this historical fiction.

A poignant and engaging story about a widowed violinist and her children inheriting a dilapidated Spanish countryside property and the trials and tribulations that they encounter while trying to start their lives over. The characters were intriguing, unfathomable and at times had me clenching my fists in rage. I shan’t spill more details on the story but for any long term Jojo Moyes fans this one is for you!

I will say the ending annoyed me and is the only reason this novel is receiving a three verses four star rating. The characters deserved better!

(Oh and in case you are wondering – I have read A LOT of Jojo Moyes… almost all her published novels I think. So yes I have read the ‘Me Before You’ series and ‘The Last Letter from Your Lover’. Didn’t want you thinking I had skipped literary greatness)

I may have also read the ‘Hot and Hammered’ series this June consisting of Fix Her Up, Love Her or Lose Her and Tools of Engagement by Tessa Bailey, aside from the dreadful series title these novels and I did not gel. Sure I love a good, corny romance here and there but not these. As I have been wisely informed – “if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all”.

So that is where I leave my June Yarns of the novels I completed this month.

If you have read any of the above books, have suggestions for what I should read next or want to see what I’m reading right now comment and check out my Goodreads below.

May Yarns

A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, #2)

V.E Schwab

“Everyone’s immortal until they’re not.”

I think I may actually like fantasy books. 🙂

The first novel I completed this month was great. I initially started two V.E. Schwab fantasy series while trotting the length of the country; Shades of Magic (this) and Villains (but more on that next month). Thankfully the follow up to A Darker Shade of Magic did not disappoint.

After the introduction of the mysterious obsidian stone, the story continues with Kell, his brother Prince Rhy and Deliah as they navigate the various Londons along their chosen (or chosen for them) paths in society and try to not be killed in the Element Games.

I really liked this novel, it was fast paced, introduced new yet well-developed characters and had many plot twists and turns. I look forward to reading the final novel in this trilogy.

Book Lovers

Emily Henry

“If I had to pick one person to be in my corner it’d be you. Every time.”

NEW FAVOURITE ROMANCE! I purchased this book on a Thursday, started reading that evening, forced myself to stop before I completed it in one siting (purely to savour the book that smidge longer) and finished it with pure joy the following morning. The smile that crossed my face as I read the last sentence is the reason I read romances. Warm, gooey, sugared covered, sweetness is what a good romance read gives me. This book did just that and more!

Convinced she is the ‘before girl’, Nora the heroine in this tale accepts her fate as the woman men date before they find ‘the one’, as long as she continues to be ‘the one’ for her literary clients. An escape to Sunshine Falls to transform Nora’s poor dating history winds up with her bumping into a fellow bookish brood in the form of Charlie, an editor whom she met months before in less than ideal circumstances. Cue meet-cute 2.0.

I won’t divulge any further but I feel that E. Henry wrote this book for me. With sarcastic quips, tangible chemistry, misguided communication and beautifully flawed human puzzle pieces that fit together I loved every aspect of this book. Including all the book puns, jokes and references to other beloved novels of mine. Maybe if you aren’t into romances, don’t adore reading or have a black heartless soul you won’t like it… but otherwise I’m sure you’ll love it just like me. 🙂

Unfinished

Priyanka Chopra Jonas

“We are travelers, always moving, always in flux, and so are our fellow passengers. Our time riding together is fleeting, but it’s everything — because the time together is what brings us love, joy, connection.”

What a queen. No one is more surprised than me that I liked this memoir. If you don’t know who Priyanka Chopra Jonas is then maybe you’ll know her famous husband Nick Jonas from the boyband The Jonas Brothers. But after reading this… it feels criminal to only know her husband and reference her in this manner. She’s a bad arse. Very impressive resume, with global accomplishments and life-achievements, she should be more famous than him!

I didn’t expect to like this book but upon finishing it I was tempted to re-read (and that never happens) just to me amazed by her wisdom and experiences again. While this isn’t my favourite memoir ever – that place will always be held by my future bestie Michelle Obama, this offers an incredible insight to the cultural differences of growing up and working in two very different worlds; India and the United States.

I’m still kind of in awe to be honest.

Finding Cinderella

Colleen Hoover

“I love that you don’t carry a purse,” I say.

“I love that you don’t carry one, either,” she says with a laugh.

So cheesy, yet I’m so happy.

Not one of CoHos best romance novels, yet very enjoyable nonetheless. Part of the Hopeless universe, this novel introduces you to Daniel and Six, the two best friends of Sky and Dean who after a year of bad relationships have a chance encounter that leads to finding love and a much needed happily ever after… or does it.

Whilst I will admit to reading the entirety of this book without realising it was part of ‘Hopeless’ (so you 100% can read this as a stand alone novel) I did enjoy every aspect of it. It was short, sweet and captivating, I desperately wanted to know what the big secret was and if they would end up together (I know I know it’s kind of obvious)!

The Time Keeper

Mitch Albom

“When you are measuring life, you are not living it.”

Twas’ alright. Kind of predictable though.

The Time Keeper has been on my to be read list for a while now. Written by Mitch Albom and with a very interesting premise about the fable of Father Time how could I not be excited!

Unfortunately, what I hoped and have come to expect from Albom’s writing style of fantastical, complex and inspiring tales used to portray insightful lessons was quite different from the story I read. Instead I was meet with a flurry of barely introduced characters, a newly designed sun dial and threads of human struggle woven into a story. While the take-home messages were all well and good I found reading the book a challenge and possibly even a waste of my own time. 😦 But if you’re new to Albom’s work then please do not let this book dissuade you, his other novels are exceptional!

“Try to imagine a life without timekeeping. You probably can’t. You know the month, the year, the day of the week. There is a clock on your wall or the dashboard of your car. You have a schedule, a calendar, a time for dinner or a movie. Yet all around you, timekeeping is ignored. Birds are not late. A dog does not check its watch. Deer do not fret over passing birthdays. An alone measures time. Man alone chimes the hour. And, because of this, man alone suffers a paralyzing fear that no other creature endures. A fear of time running out.”

This Close to Okay

Leesa Cross-Smith

“You’re human and you have to reconcile that with yourself somehow. Forgive yourself. Allow yourself to feel everything deeply, to grow and learn.”

Hmmm I’m going to say nope to this one.

While the writing was lovely and the unique connection these two strangers develop after a chance but much needed encounter was intriguing… I just got bored. The story seemed to drag for the latter parts and the ending was underwhelming. Sometimes I found the dialogue between the two characters more like an intense Q&A game than normal chat, yes I learnt intimate details about them quicker but it felt disingenuous.

Overall it was okay I guess.

Exit Strategy (The Murderbot Diaries, #4)

Martha Wells

“Possibly I was overthinking this. I do that; it’s the anxiety that comes with being a part-organic murderbot. The upside was paranoid attention to detail. The downside was also paranoid attention to detail.”

Number four in a bot-full series this novella had it all. The perfect balance between planning, action and sarcastic but truthful commentary that readers have grown to love. He also ‘cares’ now so thats fun. 😛

I won’t begin to describe this book for those not familiar with the Murderbot series – all I will say is, if rogue sec-units, dry humour, the rise and fall of sanctuary moon and galaxies of the future are your thing then maybe you should check this out. And if you already know then you know… “so the plan wasn’t a clusterfuck, it was just circling the clusterfuck target zone, getting ready to come in for landing”.

The Missing Sister (The Seven Sisters, #7)

Lucinda Riley

Ugh why does it go on. I wanted resolution. I shall preface this book review with some history. Prior to starting this series I was not a series reader. I was yet to find a single series (and I had tried) where I wanted the story to go on. Normally I like novels for the feeling of escapism. Being transported to a different world, with different people, different adventures and mainly different problems than my own. But just as with any life, at some point you have to return to reality and face those problems, so a stand alone novel is great, a series is not! Until I met this series.

After reading The Seven Sisters and falling into a trance of their life, their stories and their unknown Pa Salt I was fixed on forgetting my woes and uncovering their truth. If you like romances, adventures around the globe and uncovering a mystery then I can’t recommend this series enough. All books in the series I believe are between 3-5 stars, all great reads. However, my bone to pick with this novel is because it doesn’t stop here!. I thought the questions the fans (myself included) had about who Pa Salt was, where the missing seventh sister is and tying up loose ends would all be answered in this novel, sadly I was wrong.

On starting this book it spends the beginning fifth catching us up on what the six sisters have been up to and introducing the possible seventh sister. For someone hoping this would be the final novel containing all my answers you can imagine my disappointment when the latter chapters only posed further questions and I left was none the wiser about anything. Now I wait for an eighth book release which will hopefully have those answers!

Otherwise the story was great, elements of romance and mystery, many historical references which the series has become famous for and they even visited New Zealand which felt a little homey 🙂 Still my favourite series without a doubt! Plus without this series I wouldn’t have given more series a try and some books on this months list wouldn’t have been read, so it’s not all bad I suppose.

Better Than the Movies

Lynn Painter

“Sometimes we get so tied up in our idea of what we think we want that we miss out on the amazingness of what we could actually have.”

What a great romance reading month! Also what an amazing YA novel!!. Just wow!!!

The characters, the plot, the music playlists and rom-com references; all so so good. 🙂 I am not a big YA fan. I usually find the characters too juvenile, the plot too simple and overall the outcome a little too perfect. But this book was an exception. Your classic enemies to friends to lovers romance with A+ rom-com movie references and excellent music choices made for a very enjoyable and heart-warming read. Plus because it was YA the book never got too steamy and the sweet innocence of the characters made the ending feel like it had been gift-wrapped and tied with a big, sparkly bow (which yes I know I said I don’t like that but when the books this adorable I make an exception).

If you have read any of the above books, have suggestions for what I should read next or want to see what I’m reading right now comment and check out my Goodreads below.

ChareBear

“Some friendships are so strong, they can even transcend lifetimes”
Uncle Iroh – Avatar

Recently I lost a beloved best friend.

I am fortunate enough to have met Charlotte when I moved to Gisborne in 2017; we became instant friends.

Charlotte and I, along with our fellow flatmates and new BF’s Sarah and Hannah spent the next two years not only learning how to doctor but becoming life long friends (with the Gizzy Gals including Britt, Ella and Gawin of course).

What followed was countless adventures, river floats, pot-luck dinners, hikes, road trips, swims and travel; both around NZ and afar.

I am unable to put into words what an incredible, brave, caring and hilarious person Charlotte was. She was someone I admired and imagined in my life forever.

Charlotte or ChareBear as I nicknamed her was many things for me:

the Momo to my Appa
a Gizzy Gal
tropical island travel friend
Eminem rap battler and Barbie Slumber Party Mix singing companion
gymnastics watching partner (despite the fact we cheered on different competitors)
personal therapist
fellow dance choreographer
the Grinch quoting enthusiast
best horizontal blue and white stripe wearer
learn to swim coach
career (or my lack there of) advisor
bone buddy and fellow ‘blonde one’
inflatable duck rescuer

And most importantly one of my closest most cherished friends.

I could share stories of our motorbiking adventure across Bali, hike up Maunga Hikurangi, her spending two months teaching me to how swim for the Gisborne to Mahia swim-challenge, days spent island hoping in Fiji, flat baking mishaps, fancy dinner feasts, rom-com movie marathons, dance battles in our living room, hours (more like days) spent watching gymnastics competitions, after work antics at Waikanae Beach on our inflatables (hers a flamingo and mine a duck), her calls and messages of support while I struggled personally and professionally with what I was doing the past two years, her joining in on my Te Araroa trot and more… but none of this will sadly ever bring her back.

To have known, worked alongside, lived with, laughed with and been able to call Charlotte my friend will be one of my greatest joys.

These memories I will hold onto forever ChareBear! xx

At this time her family and friends feel understandably broken, but if anything please use this as a reminder to take care of the people around you and tell them you love them.

My deepest condolences I send to Natalie, Bernie, Phoebe and Fergus at the loss of such an amazing person.

Arohanui

xxx

Felines, Friends and Frolicking

“When you’re feelin’ sad and low
We will take you where you gotta go
Smilin’, dancin’, everything is free
All you need is positivity”
Spice Girls – Spice Up Your Life

Well well well… who’s still reading the blog now. 🙂

Truth be told I didn’t think I had a lot to say now that trotting the length of the country has been replaced by work. However, when I looked back at the pictures I’ve taken over the last fortnight I realised not only had I visited many wonderful places, spent time with some amazing people but I’ve accomplished a few pretty cool things! And now I will share that.

Starting our convoy towards employment, we left Auckland in the evening with a quick overnight stay in Taupo (in Bertie the van of course) and dip in the beautiful Wairakei Terraces geothermal silica pools (no pictures sorry, I find taking pictures with people around you in togs kind of awkward, plus I was relaxing :P) all before heading to Hawkes Bay for an adventure. 42.1km of an adventure to be exact!

While trotting New Zealand, N.D and I both expressed interests in wanting to use our new found ‘trail fitness’ to do other physical pursuits. An iron man… no no that requires a lot of extra training, a bike and is quite a commitment. A park run… hmm not quite enough commitment. A marathon… perfect 🙂 So we signed up for the Hawkes Bay Marathon!

Each our first marathons, with under 4 weeks of ‘training’ to go.

I’ll save you the last minute running shoe purchases, horrific lost toe nails, chaffing saga and toilet stories to say – WE DID IT!

We each ran the entirety of the Hawkes Bay Marathon.

Chuffed 🙂

#sub4runningkids

The faces after running though with hobbled gaits, very small strides and pain every time you moved weren’t as elated. But I still can’t believe I did it!

While still in Hawkes Bay we caught up with friends (David, Karl and Haley), I visited more friends (Hi Josie and Hannah 🙂 ) and their adorable felines (got to have a cat shout out to Donna, Randrew, Mia and Mo) and we frolicked up various hills in the region;

Armstrong Saddle via Buttercup Hollow and Sunrise Hut in the Ruahine Ranges
Te Mata Peak

From Hawkes Bay we continued our drive towards Masterton and after a few days of work were etching to get outside again. N.D ran the Holdsworth-Jumbo Circuit that I trotted a couple of years ago and we both ventured out through Martinborough towards the Aorangi Ranges to see Cape Palliser (Matakitakiakupe) Lighthouse and the Putangirua Pinnacles.

The following week we headed west and saw another popular lighthouse! Castlepoint provided more hiking trails around Deliverance Cove, swell for N.D to shred and a very fluffy feline for me to pat. 🙂

With less than 2 months until our overseas trip I’m sure a few more kiwi adventures can be had, that and work of course. 😛

April Yarns

Before I start divulging all the books I finished in April I wanted to quickly explain the title…

“April Yarns”. You may be wondering why ‘yarns’, why not reads, books, novels even chronicles would have suited a book review post more so why yarns? Well I consume books in a manner of ways; either flipping through a paperback, tapping pages on my kindle, clicking next on an electronic book tab or listening to one of many audiobook apps. I’m yet to eat a book to make the use of the word consume seem fitting but that day may come. 😛

Hence the word ‘yarn’, in one way or another I consume the truths, tales and fictions of an author… their yarns. And I’m always up for a good yarn 🙂

Without further ramblings… below are the novels I completed in April. No spoilers, just honest opinions with a link to the novel, my star rating and a favourite quote.

The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye

David Lagercrantz

“Science always loses its way when guided by ideology or wishful thinking.”

And so it continues. If you know the ‘Girl with the Dragoon Tattoo’ series then you already know the gist of this novel. The fifth in the series continues on the story of Lisbeth Salander and her search for her long lost twin sister Camilla (who was found in the forth book – okay I know I said I wouldn’t spoil anything but if you haven’t read the fourth book then why are you reading my review of the fifth).

The author has changed for the past two novels which initially I was hesitant about as I loved Steig Larsoon’s writing style and his investigative journalism experience. Though so far I have pleasantly surprised with David Lagercrantz and the story style doesn’t read too dissimilar to the original three books. However, of the five books in the series this one dragged and the ending wasn’t all that enthralling. Hopefully it is just building suspense for the sixth and final novel!

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life

Mark Manson

“We don’t always control what happens to us. But we always control how we interpret what happens to us, as well as how we respond.”

Just great. 🙂 While I’m not really one for self-help books this was great and spurred me onto reading multiple other self-help books… so thats got to be a good thing right? 😛

M. Manson’s main point throughout the novel is that with so many things going on in the world we can only give real thought, consideration and care to a few. So the remainder we needn’t give a f*ck about. While his dad comments, poop jokes and use of a lemon analogy a fair bit didn’t inspire me, I did like his simple explanations and general approach to managing everyday occurrences. Sure this is not the best self help book out there and the title is surely for effect rather than anything constructive, but I have found myself using some of the techniques he advises in my day to day. Knowing my limitations, taking responsibility for the emotions I assume of others and embracing my fears, faults, and uncertainties has made me more courageous in communicating and probably more honest. 🙂

Verity

Colleen Hoover

“I think the idea of me is better than the reality of me.”

You go Co Ho! I’m a Colleen Hoover fan. She’s an automatic read for me. Her romance novels always evoke an emotion; passion, fear, sadness, even anger and hopefully happiness by the end. Regardless, I like all of her work. Her style of romance writing and the variety and depth of characters she creates is what keeps me reading her books. Verity was nothing like any Co Ho novel I had read before.

The authors first attempt at writing a thriller was bad – in ever good way possible. Bad words, bad characters, bad scenes, bad outcomes, just bad. And I loved it! The stories bold, unapologising, all-consuming and unrelenting plot and characters continued right till the very end. I’m still not convinced of exactly what even happened and thats kind of why I love it. I shan’t spill more details on my opinion of the novel as I want anyone who’s interested in reading this book to go in blind to the synopsis as I did, gosh I didn’t even know that it wasn’t a romance and I still loved it. 🙂 I recommend if you’re a Co Ho or suspense/thriller enthusiast to read this book.

The Interestings

Meg Wolitzer

“We are all here, on this earth for only one go around. And everyone thinks their purpose is to just find their passion. But perhaps our purpose is to find what other people need.”

Anything but interesting. That may be too harsh but if you name your book ‘The Interesting’s’ then surely the reader is going to assume something interesting happens, however I did not find this to be the case. Instead the book focused on six (really five) teenagers who meet at a summer camp and their journeys through life; the triumph, the talent, the pitfall, the friendship, the envy… so pretty much regular life.

I just didn’t find the book that interesting. The pace was slow; probably purposefully to allow the reader time to explore the intricacies of the characters, but unfortunately I found it boring and my mind kept wandering to what else I could be reading instead. The story never really went anywhere in my opinion. No climax, plot twist or exciting adventure to be had, instead it followed along a normal trajectory of human existence. As a reader who can’t not finish a book I persevered hoping it would get interesting, but sadly I just don’t think it ever did.

Untamed

Glennon Doyle

“This life is mine alone. So I have stopped asking people for directions to places they’ve never been.”

Twas good but just not for me.

I really enjoy listening to authors narrate their own memoirs. Given they’ve written the book (well most of it hopefully) they should know what words to emphasise, where to pause for effect and what parts of the book might drag; in which a joke, clever remark or tangential story is appreciated. I reckon it’s the best method of reading memoirs. If the author can’t interest me in reading their own book then I’m surely not going to be able to.

This sadly wasn’t the case. The novel started strong, I was hooked with relatable quirks, interesting anecdotes and strong emotions but then it became a little preachy. Especially when she started slandering the entire human population and I just don’t need to feel bad about myself when listing to someone else’s story. Then the book took a confusing twist and started offered parenting advice, maybe if you are a parent this is entertaining but as someone who’s childless and can’t even keep a plant alive I got bored. Next she divulged stories of adversities she has overcome in life which intrigued me only to follow in subsequent chapters with more preaching. I really enjoyed listening to her retell her experiences and am very capable at taking my own message away from them, but when she would provide her opinions outright it felt unnecessarily confronting and self-righteous.

Previously I have enjoyed her columns and smaller work but by the end I was happy the book was over and quite disappointed.

Everything I Know About Love

Dolly Alderton

“I am always half in life, half in a fantastical version of it in my head.”

While I didn’t finish this book learning a whole lot about love (like the title would suggest) I did laugh out loud, squeal with second hand embarrassment and head bob along to all nineties references in this heart-warming, funny and loving memoir.

I think this book would be enjoyable for people of a certain era; in their late 20’s to mid 30’s and dig GIRL POWER! It was lighthearted, concluded with a positive message about the importance of friendship, but mainly made me appreciate our current forms of internet communication and never having to play the ‘online’ + ’offline’ MSN messenger roulette game when trying communicate with a boy. 😉 Gosh that sucked.

Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold

Stephen Fry

“The Greeks thought it was Chaos who, with a massive heave, or a great shrug, or hiccup, vomit or cough, began the long chain of creation that has ended with pelicans and penicillin and toadstools and toads, sea-lions, lions, human beings and daffodils and murder and art and love and confusion and death and madness and biscuits.”

LOVED THIS BOOK. I should preface this review by saying that I listened to Stephen Fry narrate this retelling of Greek Mythology; his whimsical tones permeating through my tympanic membranes to enlighten me with these fantastical fables. I should also warn readers that I previously had no Greek Mythology knowledge. Sure I had heard of a wooden horse but didn’t know where it was, how big or when it was used. I wasn’t sure whether Prometheus was a type of salad dressing or sci-fi blockbuster film, nor what a Pandora was and definitely no concept of what was in the box. I was a complete Greek mythology newbie… until now.

The manner in which these myths are told is both extremely interesting and well structured. Starting with Chaos and the creation of The Night and Day, S. Fry explores the Greek God family tree including that of the Olympians and Titans, through entertaining, gripping and witty story-telling. Even natural phenomenons are explained such as Persephone’s role in bringing about the seasons each year, Apollo yielding his chariot across the sky daily to symbolise daylight and how a bee developed its sting.

This book is for everyone. 🙂

Swear on This Life

Renee Carlino

“This could be the best thing for us, after it stops being the worse.”

Another romance this month. Well after my first romance read turned out to be a thriller I thought I should try again. Fortunately this one was an actual romance and not too bad if I do say so myself. Right from the first chapter the reader is plunged into a story within the story, the main character (a struggling writer) is reading a best selling book and finds similarities to her own tumultuous childhood within its pages. I won’t spoil more of the tale from there but I found the characters and best selling book story instantly captivating!

In two sittings I had consumed the novel and was pleasantly satisfied with the ending, which if you know anything about me it is that I hate the endings of most books. I either know how it will end and am disappointed that the author couldn’t be more creative or it ends differently to how I expect and think the author has had a medical event thats forced them to make irrational conclusions. Either way I am never content with a book ending but this, this wasn’t too bad.

If you have read any of the above books, have suggestions for what I should read next or want to see what I’m reading right now comment and check out my Goodreads below.