One thing that you may not know about me is that I am such a book worm. I can remember at school we had to write 4 words to describe ourselves and I put bookworm and my tutor was completely confused until my best friend at the time, told him that I always had my head in a book. There's something about reading that I love, getting lost in characters and escaping your own world for a while. But I also love books that you can relate to and you can see yourself in characters or your friends in characters, to me that's what makes a good book as the characters seem much more realistic.
Recently, I read Lindsey Kelk's - About A Girl. I was already a fan of Lindsey Kelk's after reading the entire I Heart series. About A Girl follows the story of Tess Brook who's life isn't going to plan and so when she answers her flatmate's phone decides that since being herself isn't doing so well she'll try being Vanessa, accepting her Photography assignment.
The book is incredibly funny, like most of Lindsey's books. Tess is such a realistic character, I saw myself in her so much which is probably one of the reasons why I loved the book so much. Its an easy read, so if you're just trying to get back into reading this is definitely one to look out for. It's also just a great pick me up book, I found myself laughing and crying at this book, so be prepared for a range of emotions. I seriously cannot wait for the second part to be released What A Girl Wants on the 17th July. Sorry if the review isn't brilliant but I don't want to give too much away and ruin the story for you. But honestly, it's definitely worth a read if you like chick flick's and beach reads.
Have you read any of Lindsey Kelk's books before? What did you think?
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I am a massive Maroon 5 right from 'Songs About Jane'. I didn't really start listening to them properly until a couple of years ago where I bought all their albums and became well and truly obsessed with their music (healthy obsessed, I promise ;) ) . Anyway, last week (16th June) they released their new single 'Maps'. As to be expected I listened to it straight away.
On first listen, I wasn't that impressed, especially when I knew that Ryan Tedder had worked on the song too (we all know how much I love Mr. Tedder). It just seemed mediocre to me and I didn't fall in love with it like I do most of their songs. For me, I just thought that Adam Levine as a vocalist could do so much better than what the song allowed him to and that the band was better than the song.
This is the reason why I didn't post my thoughts immediately. I wanted to make sure that my first impression was my real and firm thoughts, so I gave the song a chance. I still believe that Maroon 5 can do a lot better. However, the song has grown on me and I do really like 'Maps'.The song is about searching for a past flame. I like the slightly reggae sound and relaxed approach the song starts with. It has that effortlessly California cool aspect to it, which I really love as it reminds me of summer. The song then builds into this chorus which is much more uptempo adding another dimension which just makes you want to dance, and sometimes that's all you want from a song, right? Despite the dance sound of the chorus, I also think that 'Maps' is quite unique in that there isn't a lot out at the moment that is similar.
It's hardly surprising that Maroon 5 have gone down a more reggae and relaxed sound as I get the feeling that Adam was hinting at this for the last few seasons of The Voice. It's still a good continuation from 'Overexposed' (the bands previous album) as it still contains that dance element which the album had. Overall, I think the song takes a different approach for Maroon 5 and its taking them in a new direction, which is probably why it was so surprising. Every band has to grow and experiment, right? So, why can't Maroon 5? Its not my favourite release of theirs but I still think that its a good track and better than a lot of songs in the charts. I'm incredibly excited for their 'V' album and still think there is lots of potential for the album to be incredible. There's no doubt that 'Maps' is a great summer anthem.
Check out the lyric video for Maroon 5's Maps below:
Are you surprised by Maroon 5's latest single? Leave a comment below.
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Last Saturday I needed some serious retail therapy after being a bit down in the dumps before I went to work. When I finished my shift I phoned my mum to come and meet me in town. My town is only really small and we have one shopping center with about 15 shops in total this includes everything from HMV, Boots and Primark. Really there isn't that much in their so when shopping it can be a little hit and miss. However, I did find an absolutely gorgeous blouse in River Island.
(Sorry about the 'selfie' approach but this is the best that I can do at the moment)
The top is a really light weight cotton material which is perfect for the summer as it won't be too warm. The front top half of the blouse is lined as it is slightly see through but the rest isn't which again helps to keep you cool on warm days. You can also just about see that there are some little cut outs in the shirt. I thought that this was really cute. The print has flowers and birds within it and the print is bright pink and orange. I loved the colours as soon as I saw it but I struggle to wear bright pinks and orange as they tend to wash me out. With the shirt itself being white though this meant that I could wear this and it was bright without making me look incredibly pale.
The blouse was right at the front of the store and it sort of called out to me as I walked past. I simply had to try it on. The shirt has buttons down the back which I really like, I also find the high neck is quite flattering on my small figure. I did pick up a size 10 in this as the size 8 was just a little tight to get on and over my head (I'm too lazy to faf about with the buttons in the back). I thought that this blouse would be a staple for me this summer, as it'd be nice for BBQ's or going out for meals with jeans. I just thought that I would get a lot of wear out of this and I haven't got anything similar to it in my wardrobe all my tops are quite plain. The top was about £25 it's a nice quality and I can see me wearing it an awful lot, so I thought the price was reasonable.
I wore this to the pub with my work friends the following Monday with my Topshop Leigh Jeans in a light blue wash and my New Look Tan T-Bar Shoes. My friend Tracey and Sarah both said that I looked very summery which meant that I achieved my goal and I was super comfy.
What are your summer staples?
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When Ella Henderson appeared on The X Factor (UK) a couple of years ago, it was obvious that she had an amazing voice, however, the style of music that she often performed wasn't really for me. I don't listen to a lot of powerhouse singers and tend to chose lyrics over the power of a singer (does that make sense?) Anyway, I was curious as to what she would release as her debut single as I'd read a few interviews that she had done and she had come across as really nice and the magazines seemed genuinely excited.
I'd heard 'Ghost' while back when I saw her music video for the song and I was literally hooked on the song from the minute I heard it. It's incredibly catchy and when taking a little look as to who wrote and produced the song it's no surprise that this was bound to be a hit. The song was co-written by Ella Henderson with Ryan Tedder and Noel Zancanella. I am a massive fan of Ryan Tedder and think he's completely underrated and so when I saw that he helped write this song I wasn't surprised by how much I love the song.
It's a dark and broody song about losing someone. Ella's voice sounds absolutely incredible, I love how it starts very slow with a strong low voice and then turns into a faster pace which reminds me a little bit of blues meets a very current pop sound. The sound of the song sort of reminds a little of Paloma Faith meets Adele. Despite the lyrics describing someone who is suffering and is in a lot of emotional pain, the music to me is very upbeat and so contradicts the lyrics. For me it shows someone who's strong enough to walk away from a relationship that isn't working.
This is a great debut for Ella Henderson. Despite being eliminated from the X Factor early into the live shows, she's come back and absolutely nailed it. Clearly, she didn't let that affect her or knock her confidence because, she went straight to no. 1 in the UK charts. In my opinion, this is one of the best debuts from an previous X Factor contestant. I'm really looking forward to seeing more from this girl because she clearly has an amazing voice and it sounds like she's found her own style of music.
Check out Ella Henderson's Music Video for 'Ghost' below:
Are you a fan of Ella's?
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I came across this song when I was reading Two Halves blog which is written by Shenae Grimes-Beech and her husband Josh Beech. Growing up I watched 90210 almost religiously and so I am obviously a fan of Shenae's. It was awhile ago when they posted about Josh's band Beech now and I've been meaning to write this post for a while but kept putting it off. However, I took some time to listen to the song again and I think I appreciated it more this time around.
The song I'm talking about is 'London Riots' by Beech. The song sounds incredibly beautiful, watching a documentary on the song on Beech's YouTube Channel Josh tells the story of how the song was written because of the London Riots. Which made me think how something so wrong and bad that happened in the country could make something that sounds so beautiful and perfect come about.
'London Riots' is a very reflective sort of song, it just makes you think about everything that's going off in the world. For me, it made me realise how insignificant my problems are compared to most of the troubles going off in the world and not many songs do that for me. There's sort of a positive vibe to the song with the music especially towards the bridge and final chorus as it builds to an almost unit which I feel that's what happened towards the London Riots, with people coming together to fix their towns people started connecting more.
Josh has a sort of Gavin DeGraw sounding voice to me, but with hints of John Mayer as he's slightly softer than Gavin's rougher/powerful tone. This is a song that I think everyone needs to listen to at least once. It's beautiful and it just makes you think about things.
Check out the music video for Beech's 'London Riots' below:
Any music recommendations leave in the comments.
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I'm a fairly new fan of Phillip Phillips, but when I started working my second job in September I kept hearing this one song, and gradually (as I heard it most days) I began to sing along with it and so I had to find out who it was. The song was Phillip Phillips 'Home', and I've been listening to his first album 'The World From the Side of the Moon' for about two months now.
Last week, I discovered that Phillip Phillips had a new album out called 'Behind the Light' and so I obviously checked it out and other than listening to Hunter Hayes' 'Storyline' album (review coming soon, hopefully) this is all I've been listening to. I described the album on twitter as 'bloody brilliant' and for me it is (I would also like to mention he favourited this tweet which made me incredibly happy, I did fan girl a little, oh well). It's the perfect summer album with a cross of folk/pop/rock. Phillip Phillips also has the incredibly unique sound to his voice which I love.
It starts with 'Searchlight' which I've been listening to non-stop, I think it's one of my favourite songs on the album. I find the song completely beautiful about trying to find the person you love who you let get away, something that I'm relating to an awful lot at the moment. For me, it portrays the story of not realising how great the person is in front of you until its too late and they've already gone. I love the music of the song too, it's a little Mumford and Sons to me but with a bit of a pop twist.
For me, a lot of the album sounds like festival music to me, I know that there are festivals for each genre of music but this album is just full of summer songs which I associate with music festivals and just having a great time. 'Raging Fire' is definitely one of those festival/summer songs. It's optimistic and sounds like a celebration. The lyric, 'won't you turn my soul into a raging fire' for me means just letting go and having fun, ignoring all the rules and just giving into some passion. 'Fool For You' is another one of those songs that remind me of summer, it's got a Mumford and Sons meets Scouting for Girls sound to it, the chorus also reminds me a little of Lenka's 'The Show'.
Other optimistic and fun songs include 'Unpack Your Heart' and the final track 'Midnight Sun'. Both of these tracks I absolutely adore. They just put me in such a good mood and feel much better about things. 'Unpack Your Heart' for me is just giving in to someone and letting them know everything about you, it's that moment of falling in love. Also, I like how in 'Midnight Sun' violins are added in places which makes it that little bit more romantic and reminds me of a sunset when the day and the fun is possibly coming to an end. 'Midnight Sun' is definitely a BBQ and summer anthem for me, just wanting to spend as much time as possible with my friends, I think it's great for those of you who are just leaving school.
As well as having the fun, upbeat songs on the album which are my personal favourite, Phillips also incorporates soul/blues/jazz vibes on tracks like; 'Trigger', 'Alive Again', 'Thicket' and 'Face'. I feel like these songs bring a slightly more mysterious vibe to the album and to Phillips. This was a nice touch, in my opinion as it makes everything sound a little different and stand out a little. These songs, in particular 'Thicket' makes the emotion seem more genuine and adds an edge to the album. I like how in 'Thicket' also the music corresponds with the lyrics making the song sound almost dream like and relaxing.
'Lead On' is another personal favourite of mine. I just think that it's a song that everyone can relate to. Everyone has been lead on by someone and I personally love the lyrics 'hanging on to every word' because I think you do that when you're in love with someone. 'Lead On' is just a song that makes you think that keep chasing after that person may be worth it and who knows, hey?
Finally, the last song I really want to discuss is 'Open Your Eyes'. This is a close top favourite along with 'Searchlight'. Its a little slower and gorgeous, it's romantic and describes someone wanting the other person to just let go and give in to how they really feel. I don't really know what to say about this song other than it's perfect and simple. His music is so authentic and real which I think works well for him. He's not using gimmicks or synthesized sounds to make him sound different to fit into the charts. I also like that he's optimistic and positive in his music.
Phillip Phillips has really impressed me with this album. He's got the balance of fun songs with grittier and more mysterious songs without doing the normal ballads. I think he's shown a lot of growth in this album. The song writing is brilliant as is the music. A lot of the songs have a little Mumford and Sons vibe to them but that's probably due to the Folk/Rock/Pop sound that the album has. But Phillip Phillips has such a unique voice that it stands out from anything else I've heard recently. I can see me listening to this album throughout of the entire summer non-stop and thoroughly enjoying every moment of it.
Check Out Phillip Phillips 'Raging Fire' below:
Did you like what you heard? Be sure to buy his album, 'Behind the Light' on iTunes.
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