Percy Jackson and the Olympians series review ~ Emile

Bonjour mes amis!

How are you all doing today? Honestly, I feel awful. But hopefully that's just me. 

My latest book-ish obsession is the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan. Unless you have been living under a rock you have probably heard of this series. It is a 5 book collection about a boy call Percy Jackson (obviously). 

Percy is a demigod and after a strange turn of events ends up living at Camp Half-Blood, a camp for demigods. Demigods are the children of gods and humans, because of this they attract monsters which means they do not often survive without help from the camp. On the way he meets new friends and enemies and heroes and villains and it is epic. I love it. 

The books are as follows:

1. Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief

2. Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters

3. Percy Jackson and the Titan's Curse

4. Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth 

5. Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian 

There is also a follow-up series featuring the original characters as well as some new ones called the Heroes of Olympus. This series incorporates Roman gods as well as Greek into the world of Percy Jackson. Here are the books:

1. The Lost Hero

2. The Son of Neptune

3. The Mark of Athena

4. The House of Hades

5. The Blood of Olympus 

I highly recommend this for people of all ages. 5 stars! 

Au revoir,

Emile x

That is all if you have not read the entire Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. If you have read them, then this next section is for you. If you haven't, then open at your own risk. 

Warner Bros. Studio Tour Experience ~ Emile

Bonjour,

My apologies for not posting this sooner, I was busy and I didn't want to write a half-hearted post after promising something good. I don't make promises I can't keep. I recommend you grab a drink, because this is going to be a long post.

First of all, before I tell you about my experience may I say that I have been to the Warner Bros. Studios before. This was my second time going. I did find however that I had missed a lot of details and it was so much fun to go with my best friend Maud, it was a very different experience.

Staring off, we were both very excited! We decided to dress up in house colours, my house being Ravenclaw and Maud's being Hufflepuff. We wore house colours and decorated our faces with house-themed makeup. That bit in itself hugely pumped us up for the experience. I had silver and blue painted nails as well as silver eyeshadow. I was wearing grey leggings with a cobalt blue top and a blue and silver necklace. Maud wore black bottoms with a mustard yellow tank top. She had the word "Hufflepuff" written across her nails in alternating black and yellow (which, by the way, I did for her). On her eyes she had golden eyeshadow.

As far as the displays I don't want to reveal too much unless you also want to go on this trip and see the studio tour. All I am going to say is that there were costumes, props, animatronics, special effects, sets and much more. It is incredible. Fangirl heaven. Seeing everything as it was used by the actors in bringing this famous story world to life was a dream come true. At the bottom of this post I will add a section that contains spoilers about the tour, so open at your own risk.

Another thing you can do there is try butter beer in the cafe! Maud and I both liked it, however, when we went there they were serving butter beer ice cream which I preferred. I wish you could buy butter beer ice cream at the supermarket. Don't we all.

In Olivander's shop at the end of the tour look out for the wands of some of the actors, we found a few!

The gift shop at the end was pricey, but it was a special experience so I did buy a chocolate frog. I was gifted a Ravenclaw scarf and a wand to go with that. I chose Ginny Weasley's wand because it was one of my favourites and feels comfortable to hold, if that makes sense? It felt nice and balanced. Maud bought Sirius Black's wand which was also one of my favourites.

Here are some pictures from the tour:

I rate it 5/5 for bookish experience and awesomeness!



Au revoir,
Emile x

And now the spoiler section. Open this at your own risk. I hold none of the blame. 

I loved seeing the actor's costumes, especially Ron's dress robes from the Yule Ball and Hermione's gorgeous dress. Another part I really enjoyed was walking down Diagon Alley. Seeing Olivanders and Quality Quidditch Supplies made the world feel so real. Looking at all the sketches and models of sets emphasised how much work was put into these movies that you don't see on the screen. I realised just how many people were needed to put these movies together. Among the crew were some amazing artist's whose work is displayed as part of the tour. Looking at the work was inspirational to me as I really enjoy looking at and drawing art and architectural drawings. The talent was incredible.

I could talk about this for ages, but for now I had better go.

Au revoir,
Emile x

Throne of Glass ~ Review by Sarah J. Maas (Emile)

Bonjour!

One of my most recent bookish obsessions, has been the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas. I love it so much! It is to be a six book series. Currently only the first three books are published as well as a book of novellas The Assassin’s Blade. The first part of this review will not contain any spoilers, and the part with spoilers will be covered. Read that at your own risk!

Throne of Glass is about an assassin working in a death camp. One day she is visited by the Crown Prince who takes her out of the mines to compete to become the King’s very own champion. She must defeat thieves, assassins and fully trained soldiers in order to earn her freedom. Will she survive? And where will she be at the end?

(That wasn’t the blurb that was my own summary. )

As you already know, this is one of my favourite series I have read this year.

5 out of 5 stars.  Awesome.

In these books I love how Celaena is a girly-girl yet still kick-ass and doesn’t take any rubbish from anyone. I want to be like her sometimes, apart from the devastating life and the murdering people. 

I highly recommend this series. If you like young adult fantasy and kick-butt characters this is for you.

Au revoir,

Emile x

Now for spoilers! If you have not read the whole Throne of Glass series so far, (books 1, 2 & 3) then do not open this.

Reading Nooks I Want to Curl Up In - Emile (and exciting news!)

Bonjour!

Joyeux Lundi! (Happy Monday)

Today we shall talk about all those cool reading nooks and cubbies that you see on Pinterest and know that you will never have the money or time, not to mention skill, to build. Oh well, we can dream on.

1. This colourful cloud of cushions I want to disappear into:

2. This whimsical abode:

3. This hippie hanging chair:

4. This stylish tree top view: 

5. This rustic barn attic: 

6. This outdoor alcove to make you feel like a Disney princess:

7. This comfortable corner: 

8. The pom-pom lights make this one so much better:

Now for the exciting news! Maud and I are getting together in a couple of weeks and we will be posting a special edition post together - so keep and eye out for it. 

That's all for today folks,
Au revoir, Emile x

Currently Reading - Emile 01/07/15

Bonjour!

I am currently reading Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas and OH MY GOODNESS I LOVE IT!
Read the Throne of Glass series. Enough said.

In case you have been living under a rock, Heir of Fire is the third book in the to be six book series.
Soon I will do a series review of the first three books because the rest aren't out yet. The fourth book is to be called Queen of Shadows.

And Queen of Shadows doesn't come out until September 1st :(

Au revoir,
Emile :) x

My Favourite Authors - Emile

Bonjour!

Today's topic is on my favourite authors. I'm a pretty diverse reader, so I just read what sounds good. I do however have some authors that I especially enjoy reading from. 

1. Terry Pratchett
Because I love how random his writing his, how the names are so spontaneous.

2. Douglas Adams
Because of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and Last Chance to See.

3. Bill Bryson
Because I find his writing so funny while learning a lot.

4. J.K Rowling 

For obvious reasons.

5. V.E Schwab

I think her writing style is so unique.

6. Patrick Ness
His books are amazing.

There we are! My favourite authors can vary, but here a few that I consistently love.
Au revoir,
Emile :)

My top 5 favourite books of all time; Maud

Hey guys!
Today I'm going to be writing about my 5 favourite books of all time.
By the way, this is in no particular order as I love each one equally.
Hope you enjoy x

1. The Perks Of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.
This book is about a boy called Charlie- he is a bit of a wallflower.
This book was AMAZING! Emile and I read this at the same time and both enjoyed it thoroughly. Look out for a Book Review on this novel in the near future.

2. Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling (obviously...)
This is the best book series EVER! No question.
Again...a book review will also be posted on this series.
Obviously it's INCREDIBLE!

3. 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher
This book is about a teenage boy called Clay. One day, he gets back from school to a package at his doorstep. These are tapes recorded by Hannah Baker (a girl who committed suicide a few week earlier). These are the reasons why she committed suicide- he is one of them.
This is the book about why he is a reason- and he finds out why she made this tragic decision.
Read it!

4.Goodnight Mr Tom by Michelle Magorian
This book tugged at my heart strings- it is so cute but also extremely sad! It is a story about a World War II evacuee boy that goes to the country. This story is about the relationship between Mr Tom and the evacuee. Read this---it's spectacular!

5. Looking For Alaska by John Green
This book is my absolute favourite John Green book. You gets so connected to the characters and then after the "event"---everything will change. I love it so much!

All these books will have an upcoming reviews so look out for those!
Happy Reading!
Maud