2018/05/30

BOOK HAUL: MAY
+ STUFF FROM ANTHROPOLOGIE

May is always a lovely month and this year it was as well. Oslo has been hot this month and it was actually kind of nice! I don't usually enjoy the heat, but right now I'm loving it. It was also International Worker's Day this month which was great and Norway's National Day on the 17th of May which I spent with some of my friends and family. I'm really excited for the next few months as well, because I think there's something wonderful about summer reading. I have so many books I want to get to!

I've got an amazing collection of new books this month, plus some new interior for my apartment from Anthropologie that I want to show you! I only just realised that they ship to Norway which I'm just so excited about. Anyways, enough babbling!











(affiliate links)
(sent to me by the publisher) A Place For Us by Fatima Fahreen Mirza

 And then the lovely new things from Anthropologie... (I'm in love, love, love with the mugs!)








Hope you guys are all doing good and having a great day!
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2018/05/28

BOOK REVIEW:
I LET YOU GO BY CLARE MACKINTOSH

Title: I Let You Go
Author: Clare Mackintosh
Published: 2014
Language: English
Pages: 371
Rating: 4/5


Summary:
After a tragic accident, Jenna Gray finds herself unable to cope and decides to leave her life behind and move to the Welsh coast. Soon though, she finds it's not as easy to outrun the past as one would like...


Review:
Everyone kept telling me to read this book because the twist in it is unbelievable and boy, were they right!

This is one of those reads that really capture you right away, but I found I was especially hooked after about halfway through; I was glued to the page trying to figure out what the hell was going on. It's an incredibly engrossing story and I really couldn't put it down. I really enjoyed the characters in this book as well, and I liked how we got to see the story from different perspectives.

I do think, however, that even though this took me on a complete rollercoaster ride, there were a few things at the end I felt were a bit much. Everything ties in together almost too perfectly, and after what felt like the tenth sudden turn in fifty pages, I was left a bit wary.

I'd highly, highly recommend this book if you like mysteries and thrillers though, you're going to enjoy this so much! It's the perfect book for when you want something that just sucks you in and leaves you looking like a shocked emoji.
You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads
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2018/05/27

2018/05/26

BOOK REVIEW:
YOUNG ANNE BY DOROTHY WHIPPLE

Title: Young Anne
Author: Dorothy Whipple
Published: 1927
Language: English
Pages: 292
Rating: 3/5

This book was sent to me by the publisher.


Summary:
In Dorothy Whipple's first novel, we meet Anne as a young girl and follow her life across a few decades.


Review:
There's something so charming and lovely about the way Whipple writes her stories and although you can clearly tell that this is the first novel she wrote and her writing better in her later novels, this was delightful.

I really enjoyed reading about Anne. I felt she as a character was fascinating and without her this novel would have literally been nothing, as there isn't really a whole lot of things going on in this book. Anne is the main attraction and fulfils that role well.

I very much enjoyed the experience of reading this, even if it didn't knock my socks off. I would recommend it if you enjoy Whipple's other books - it's really interesting to see where it all started with this author.
You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads
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2018/05/25

2018/05/23

PENGUIN ENGLISH LIBRARY:
FRANKENSTEIN




Ever notice how I have like a hundred lovely editions of Frankenstein? Well, here's another one!
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2018/05/22

THINGS I LIKE NO. 12

Today I've got an item whose smell reminds me so much of summer and travel. I actually started using this years ago while I was on a trip to Italy with my best friends and it's been my favorite ever since; it's this Green Tea Honey Drops Body Cream (try saying that five times fast) from Elizabeth Arden.

This smells really fresh and amazing and it leaves a really nice fragrance on your skin that isn't too overpowering. And it obviously makes my skin super smooth, otherwise I wouldn't keep using it.

A huge pot of it also lasts for a really long time; I've had the one I'm currently using for almost a year and I haven't hit the bottom yet, although it of course depends on how often and much you use.

Elizabeth Arden has also come out with another variety of this with Nectarine Blossom as well, which I haven't smelled but I really need to check out!
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2018/05/21

BOOK REVIEW:
SWIMMER AMONG THE STARS BY KANISHK THAROOR

Title: Swimmer Among the Stars
Author: Kanishk Tharoor
Published: 2017
Language: English
Pages: 256
Rating: 2/5


Summary:
A collection of stories featuring history, travel and people from around the world.


Review:
I had such high expectations for this and although I wouldn't say I'm disappointed, it didn't quite live up to those expectations.

I think the stories in this are diverse, interesting and lovely, and Tharoor has a way with words that is quite stunning. Some of the stories create these amazing worlds that I really enjoyed, while others lacked magic and were quite difficult to even finish. A few of the stories are really long as well and dragged out.

It was worth the read, but it was one of those collections that I had to force myself through a little bit, because there was something about it that didn't make me want to pick it back up. The stories in here that I liked were amazing and easily some of the best short stories I've read, but the majority were not. I'd love to see this author write a novel though, I'd be really interested in reading that.
You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads
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2018/05/20

2018/05/19

BOOK REVIEW:
UP FROM THE SEA BY LEZA LOWITZ

Title: Up From The Sea
Author: Leza Lowitz
Published: 2016
Language: English
Pages: 272
Rating: 3/5


Summary:
Written in verse, this is the story of a young boy surviving the earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan in March 2011.


Review:
This was heartbreaking!

It takes skill to write a whole book in verse and get your point across successfully and this does that. It's a moving and vivid story of a young boy and I felt like it captured his emotions really well. I really like how Japanese words and phrases are incorporated into the text, as it helps create and tell you about the place this is set in.

The story does border on being cliché in a lot of places and although some of the verses in here really resonated with me, I'm not wholly sure it will stay with me the way it was meant to, which is surprising. I think perhaps if it were a longer book, I'd feel more connected. It was worth the read though, and I think if you're perhaps a bit younger than I am, you'll love this.
You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads
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2018/05/18

2018/05/17

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