Red Queen | Victoria Aveyard
24 August 2018
The world is divided by blood - red or silver.
The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power.
Intrigued? I was.
Coupled with the fact that I seemed to be seeing this book all over Instagram, I headed over to Waterstones and grabbed myself a copy.
I must admit, before reading this book I had seen Emily May's review on Goodreads (which is less than glowing), so my expectations were a bit all over the place.
Let me start by saying this book is a slow burner, it seems to take a long time for anything to happen and I honestly feel like things could have happened a little bit quicker, but I suppose the theory was character building, so let's talk about characters shall we?
The characters individually were one of the main things that kept my reading the book, I was interested in their different motivations, powers and following Mare was enjoyable for me. However, I really struggled through the book to believe the relationships between the characters, Mare seems to have all the boys falling at her feet for no reason I could quite figure out. I started to invest in the relationship between Mare and Maven, but I felt like I knew what was coming there (as much as I didn't want it to happen).
Cal had the potential, but what happened with the dancing (trying to keep as spoiler free as possible) felt like it honestly came (a bit) out of nowhere, there was no real build up and I was left feeling a bit confused. Now they have some tension, I am beginning to invest in their relationship a little bit more.
Kilhorn, again, it's like we are just supposed to accept that they are besties and will constantly protect each other, but we are taken away from him so quickly at the beginning, I don't feel like we see enough evidence of that before we are expected to just believe it.
The revolution takes a bit of a back seat in the Red Queen, which is what I am hoping comes out in the next three (three!) books. I am going to purchase Glass Sword, give it a go and see if there is a bit more story to come out now we know the characters.
I am really hoping Red Queen is like the first episode of a TV series, lots of background and building so we can get into the good stuff in the coming weeks, so due to the fact that I read to the end, and I definitely want to give the next book a try, ★★★.
What I Learnt Planning My Sister's Hen Do
7 August 2018
Planning a hen do can feel like a giant thing getting closer and closer until you've suddenly got a second job you didn't plan on having and 20 people to organise and get to all be in the same place at the same time. So, I thought I would impart some of the knowledge I gained from planning my favourite person in the whole wide world's hen night.
You will get stressed.
There are no two ways around it, with all the best will in the world, you will find planning the hen do stressful. I found it best to feel the feelings, make a list and try and move through it.
Make lists.
Having a list infront of you with all your tasks on makes life so much easier. It also makes it easier to see if you could, perhaps, ask for help from other bridesmaids or attendees.
Let go of the little things.
I spent far too long agonising over what should be in the gift bags - and in the end it turned out to be the wrong theme and I couldn't send them back, so in the bag went a unicorn present for a mermaid themed hen night - but it didn't matter, people thought the gift bags were cute and a nice touch, so there was no need to worry!
Take a disposable camera.
The playlist for the barge was on my phone, and I was unable to take as many photos as I would have liked. I have all the photos other people took, and one or two that I managed to snap, but I really wish I had taken a disposable camera to take more. Also for the delayed gratification of looking forward to getting them developed.
People are there to have a good time.
Hopefully, all the people who are coming on your hen evening are there because they mean something to the hen. That means they all want both the hen, and themselves, to have a good time. You plan the actives, they bring the attitude to enjoy themselves.
If I could have, I would have given my sister the world, but unfortunately I can't. I did my best and everyone had a brilliant time and that's all you can do!
Have you planned a hen night? Do you have any tips?
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