harry potter – Adventures in Polishland

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Top 10 Books of 2016!

Posted on January 9, 2017January 6, 2017 by Adventures in Polishland

Happy Monday! Today I am excited to share with you my favorite books of 2016. It was my goal to read 40 books, and I am very happy to announce I surpassed that and read 67 books this past year. My average star rating was 3.65, so it’s safe to say I read some wonderful books and some books that I wouldn’t recommend, too. My top ten list features my favorite reads of the year whether or not they were 2016 releases. I will also be sure to link to my full reviews if you would like more information on any of these books.

10. The Hundred by Kass Morgan [REVIEW] [BUY]

I read the first three books in The 100 series by Kass Morgan this year, and I really fell in love with it. This is a young adult science fiction series, and it follows four teenagers who grew up on a space station after Earth was savaged by chemical wars. Three of our protagonists are sent to Earth to see if it is livable again, while one is still on the space station. I love the survival aspect of this series, and I think Morgan’s writing is really well done. There are so many twists and turns that keep me on my toes, and I always have fun reading these books.

9. When We Collided by Emery Lord [REVIEW] [BUY]

I picked up When We Collided by Emery lord on a whim from the library, and I am so glad I did! This is a young adult contemporary book that follows two main characters, Jonah and Vivi. They meet one summer in Jonah’s hometown, and the book follows their relationship. Vivi is also suffering from mental illness, and we get to learn about how this affects her life on a daily basis. If you are looking for an emotional read, this is a great one.

8. If I Stay by Gayle Forman [REVIEW] [BUY]

Another emotional book I loved this year is If I Stay by Gayle Forman. I was really surprised with how much I adored this book, as it is really short and quite simple to read. This young adult contemporary follows teenager Mia as she decides whether to live or die after getting into a car crash. What I found so impactful about this novel is how we get to meet all of the people in Mia’s life both in the current day and in flashback scenes. It reminded me a bit of The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom in that respect.

7. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin [REVIEW] [BUY]

Next up is a book that I started reading back in 2013, but gave up on until this year. That is A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin! I’ve never watched the television show, and I’ve managed to avoid most spoilers, so it was a huge accomplishment for me to finally finish this book. There are some things I don’t like about this book, mainly the treatment of women and graphic violence, but the characters are so intriguing and the world so rich that I have to continue in the series.

6. The First Time She Drowned by Kerry Kletter [REVIEW] [BUY]

If you are looking for a beautifully written young adult book, I highly recommend The First Time She Drowned by Kerry Kletter. This story follows teenager Cassie as she checks herself out of a mental hospital. Cassie claims her mother put her in the hospital for no reason other than hatred, and that there is nothing wrong with her. I was captivated by this story, and quite impressed with the stunning writing. I can’t wait to see what other books Kletter writes in the future!

5. The Forgetting by Sharon Cameron [REVIEW] [BUY]

Another book that kept me on the edge of my seat this year is The Forgetting by Sharon Cameron. This is a young adult book that takes place in a world where everyone forgets his or her memories every twelve years. The main character is a teenager named Nadia, and she is the only person who has never forgotten any of her memories. With the next forgetting around the corner, Nadia is working to ensure her family will be safe and together when all else is forgotten. Along the way she begins a new friendship with a boy named Gray, and she is afraid he will forget her. I found this story extremely addicting, and raced through this book to find out what would happen!

4. More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera [REVIEW] [BUY]

Another young adult contemporary I loved is More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera. I was a bit confused for the first half of this book because I felt like there was no point to the story, but once we hit a big reveal I fell completely in love with this book. We follow teenager Aaron Soto, who lives in the Bronx in a near future where there is a procedure called Leteo that removes memories. Aaron is completely against this procedure, but begins to wonder if he should get it. This is an #OwnVoices LGBTQIA+ book, and one that includes a very powerful message. I can’t wait to read more from Silvera, and already pre-ordered his next book!

3. All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood [REVIEW] [BUY]

If you enjoy edgy and controversial stories, All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood is the book for you! This adult fiction book follows a young girl named Wavy and her much older companion Kellen. Readers follow this couple from the beginnings of their innocent friendship through what becomes something more. This is a book that forces you to think about some of the universal truths about life. I absolutely loved the character of Wavy, and it was heartbreaking yet inspirational to read her story.

2. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by John Tiffany, Jack Thorne, and J.K. Rowling [REVIEW] [BUY]

I still can’t believe that 2016 was the year we got another installment in the Harry Potter series. I’ve been a huge fan of this world for nearly 20 years of my life now, and although the original series did not end the way I would have liked, it was still nice to be in this world once again. Of course, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a script and not a novel, but it was so much fun to preorder a Harry Potter book again and take part in the excitement of a new Rowling release. Many Harry Potter fans despise this book, but I absolutely loved it. If you take it as it is – the script of a stage play – I think it’s quite enjoyable.

1. All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven [REVIEW] [BUY]

My absolute favorite book of the year is one I read in January, and that is All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. This is a young adult contemporary about Violet and Finch, two teens who meet on the roof of their school as they are pondering jumping. As you may be able to guess, this is an emotional book that deals with mental illness. While my heart was torn to shreds, I learned so much from this book. It is one I recommend to anyone and everyone, and a book I plan on rereading very soon.

That wraps up my top ten books of 2016! I read some really amazing books this year, and I’m happy that I got to share them with you. If you would like to keep up with my reading, feel free to add me on Goodreads HERE and follow my Bookstagram account HERE. Please share your favorite books of the year in the comments with me as well! I would love to know what reads you recommend.

This post includes affiliate links. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.

August Lifestyle Favorites!

Posted on September 1, 2016August 25, 2016 by Adventures in Polishland

Happy Thursday! I can’t believe it is the first day of September, and time to share my August favorites with all of you. I didn’t discover too many new products this month, but I do have a few beauty, haircare, and miscellaneous things to shout out today. Without further ado, let me jump into my August favorites!

NAIL POLISH

Zoya Mallory [REVIEW] [BUY]

I feel like every time Zoya puts out a new blue nail polish I end up falling in love with it! Mallory is just a stunning blue from the new Urban Grunge collection. It does stain the nails, so make sure to double up on your base coat to prevent that from happening. I think my next manicure will be with Mallory!

HAIR CARE

LUSH Brazilliant Shampoo Bar [BUY]

I was in the market for a new shampoo, so I decided to head to LUSH for the first time in quite a while. I purchased the Brazilliant, as it helps to moisturize the hair but not weigh it down. I absolutely love the scent of this shampoo, and I find that it works really well. My hair is very clean after using it, but not dried out at all. It’s definitely worth paying a bit more for it!

FOOD

Gardein Chipotle Black Bean Burger

I was in the mood for a black bean burger, and luckily spotted these at my local grocery store. I couldn’t believe how amazing these taste! I’ve tried a lot of frozen black bean burgers before, and none have measured up to these ones. They are almost as good as the black bean burgers I get at restaurants. Plus, they are pretty affordable, too!

BOOK

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child [BUY]

There have been a lot of mixed opinions on Harry Potter and the Cursed Child since its release on July 31, but I really enjoyed it. I went into the script not knowing anything about the plot, and I think that helped me have a positive experience because I had zero expectations. The thing to remember is that this is not a new Harry Potter book – it is a script of a stage play. I can only imagine how amazing this looks performed live!

Rio 2016 Olympics

Leading up to this year’s Olympics, I wasn’t too excited. There was so much bad press about the various issues going on in Rio that I didn’t expect to watch many of the events. However, I got really into the Olympics when they began, and stayed up late every night cheering on Team USA. My favorite sports to watch are always Women’s Gymnastics and Swimming, but I enjoyed whatever was on the TV each night.

That wraps up my August favorites! I know this post was pretty short, but I spent the majority of the month watching the Olympics and not discovering too many new things. Please be sure to let me know in the comments what you loved during August. I would also like to know which Olympic events are your favorite!

Some of the products in this post were provided for my unbiased review. This post contains affiliate links. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.

Book Review | Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Posted on April 19, 2016April 19, 2016 by Adventures in Polishland

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Published by St. Martin’s Griffin on October 6, 2015

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 522

Source: Library

Goodreads: ★★★

Simon Snow is the worst chosen one who’s ever been chosen.

That’s what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he’s probably right.

Half the time, Simon can’t even make his wand work, and the other half, he sets something on fire. His mentor’s avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there’s a magic-eating monster running around wearing Simon’s face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here—it’s their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon’s infuriating nemesis didn’t even bother to show up.

Carry On is a ghost story, a love story, a mystery and a melodrama. It has just as much kissing and talking as you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell story—but far, far more monsters.

REVIEW

I was interested to read Carry On after finishing Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell earlier this year. Carry On is a fantasy novel featuring the character Simon Snow, and was introduced to readers in Fangirl. Simon Snow is the Harry Potter of in the Fangirl world, and Rowell decided to write her own take on Simon in Carry On. Confused? It’s okay – I was a bit, too. Carry On is basically a Harry Potter satire with its own twist on the magical world.

As someone who grew up with Harry, Carry On was almost insulting to me. It felt like Rowell was using Carry On to rewrite everything she didn’t like about Harry Potter. For example, the students in Simon Snow’s world don’t have servants to bring them food, like Harry does at Hogwarts. Similarly, Simon Snow’s world uses Muggle technology, and mixes with the normal world a great deal. I struggled to get into Carry On for the first 260 pages, but it was due to the Harry parallels. If you’ve never read Harry Potter, or if it’s not a big part of your life, you will probably have a much easier time reading Carry On.

That being said, once a particular scene occurs, I really started to enjoy the book much more. The story was a lot of fun, and I began to enjoy the characters of Simon and Baz. Rowell does a great job in all of her books of creating unique characters that are very intriguing. That is true in Carry On. I also really enjoyed the adventure that takes place within the story, and how intricately woven the plot is.

Moreover, there are a lot of things about Carry On I really did not like. First, the writing style is very experimental, and I felt like it didn’t work at times. For instance, the novel is written in a multiple-perspective format. I did find it cool that Rowell could jump into the mind of any character, but I think the book would be much stronger if she stuck with a few point-of-views. Readers mainly follow Simon, Baz, Penelope, and Agatha, but every once in a while we hear from the Mage (aka Dumbledore) and other minor characters as well. I would have much preferred the book to focus on a few POVs instead of the many represented.

In the same way, I noticed that for the majority of the book the POV changes only when the chapter changes. However, as the book came to a close, the POV began to change in-chapter. I didn’t understand why this format changed so late in the story. While it’s not a big deal, it did disrupt the uniformity of the writing, and detracted from my enjoyment a bit. I also didn’t understand why Carry On was separated into separate books within one larger novel, when each was following the same overall plot line.

Another issue I had with Carry On is the ending. The book is very well-developed and drawn out until the ending, where Rowell provides the reader with a huge info-dump. The big mystery is ‘resolved’ in a single conversation, and Simon is able to figure out the solution to his problem without explaining it at all to the reader. I found this quite disappointing, and was left trying to put together the pieces. I now understand why some people read this book several times over – one needs to, to understand all that happens!

All of the critiques aside, I recommend Carry On if you enjoyed Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. I think that I will one day give Carry On another chance, because I do really enjoy Simon and Baz, and I thought the idea behind the story was a lot of fun. If you’re a Harry Potter fan, go in with an open mind and try not to let Rowell’s commentary on Harry bother you. I enjoyed it much more once I got over those parallels!

BUY THE BOOK

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

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Back to School Week | Get Back to Hogwarts with Kawaii Nail Lacquer

Posted on August 12, 2013August 16, 2013 by Adventures in Polishland

Happy Monday, and welcome to Back to School Week at Adventures in Polishland! This is a sensitive time of year for those of us who are heading back to class, and I thought it would be fun to focus on some of the best parts of going back to school instead of dwelling on the forthcoming homework and exams. I will have a new post up every day from Monday to Friday featuring nails, makeup, fashion, and more. I thought I would kick things off with a review of some Harry Potter themed polishes from the indie brand Kawaii Nail Lacquer. Back to school time would be super awesome if I was going back to Hogwarts! Let me show you these magical polishes!

First up is Gryffindor! You might be in Gryffindor if you are brave and chivalrous. Its house colors are crimson and gold, and this glitter polish fits the mold! Griffindor is a glitter polish in a clear base, and is full of fine glitters, small hexagons, squares, and bars in a mix of red and gold. I layered one coat over L’Oreal Breaking Curfew to get this look. I wonder if Hermione would sport this polish… Maybe not, but I sure do like it.

Next up is Hufflepuff! Students in Hufflepuff are loyal and exceptionally good finders. Its house colors are black and yellow, but don’t be fooled — its animal is a badger (not a bee)! In polish form, Hufflepuff contains black, yellow, and gold hexagons, fine gold and black glitters, and black bar glitters. I layered one coat over OPI Skull & Glossbones. While no one wants to end up in Hufflepuff, at least you’ll have this gorgeous nail polish to wear!

Ravenclaw is up next, and I couldn’t be more excited! Why, you ask? It’s because I am a Ravenclaw! Students in Ravenclaw are wise individuals, and its house colors are blue and bronze (not blue and silver as seen in the movies!). The Ravenclaw polish has bronze fine glitters, hexagons, and bars, and blue hexagons as well. I layered one coat over ncLA’s Malibu Beach Babe. While this manicure may not be whimsical enough for Luna Lovegood, it’s perfect for me!

Last but not least is Slytherin. Join the ranks of the Malfoys and Blacks if you’re cunning and resourceful. With house colors like silver and green, I knew this polish would look awesome. It’s filed with small and medium hexagons, and I layered one coat over Julep Brandt to get the look in the photos. You’ll be ready for Defense Against the Dark Arts with this polish!

All in all, I am loving these Harry Potter themed polishes from Kawaii Nail Lacquer! They all have amazing formulas, and they represent the Hogwarts Houses perfectly. Unfortunately I won’t be going back to Hogwarts this year (my owl hasn’t showed up with my acceptance letter yet), but I think these polishes are super fun to rock on your nails this fall. You can purchase these polishes from the Kawaii Etsy shop for $8.50 each HERE and follow Kawaii on Facebook HERE.

Be sure to let me know which Hogwarts House you would be sorted into in the comments!

This post contains some affiliate links. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.