March Favourites! - Tuesdays with Ash

Hey Guys! =D

Wow I've been absent for a while. Sorry about that =/

Anywho, these last two days I've had a really bad stomach bug and I've drunk so much water and I think I was close to drowning. Or becoming a fish. BUBBLES!

God I need sleep...

ONTO MY FAVOURITES OF THIS MONTH!

Favourite band:

~ Marianas Trench
I've recently discovered this band and OMG their songs are amazing! I particularly hooked on 'Haven't Had Enough' and 'B-Team'. If you like rock pop then you'll like these guys!

Favourite drink:

~ I'm following Bri's advice here and I've starting drinking green tea again! It definitely has an acquired taste so it may take you a while to come to like it. I used to hate it but now I'm okay with it =)

Favourite food:

~ I gave up chocolate for Lent (which has gotten me a lot of harassment from my so-called friends) and I miss chocolate sooooo much! Even though I can't eat it yet it's still my favourite food, if that makes sense. It doesn't does it? Crap.

Favourite film:

~ Saving Mr Banks
This film is so emotional and it follows the story of the writer of Mary Poppins and Walt Disney who wants to make the book into a film, but the writer isn't so keen. Emma Thompson plays the writer and she is just an amazing actress! Along with her and Tom Hanks playing Walt Disney it's a film that you just simply have to watch.

Favourite book:

~ Cherry Crush
This book is the first in the series called The Chocolate Box Girls by Cathy Cassidy and even though it has quite a cliché plot (girl moves to another city with her dad to live with his new girlfriend, she meets a cute guy who plays guitar blah blah blah...) I love the characters as they are so quirky and Cherry's new step-sisters are adorable! Well, apart from one but I come to like her slightly near the end of the book. You'll see why if you read it!


Right, that's it from me and I'll see you people on the last day of March! God, this year is going by so quickly!!

See ya next week!
Ash xx

February Favourites! - Tuesdays with Ash

Heya guys! =D

First of all, Happy March! I can't believe that February has ended already! Oh well, at least it will start getting warmer now =)

As you can see from the title, I'm doing my February favourites so let's get started!

• Favourite songs

~ 'Love Me Like You Do' by Ellie Goulding

~ 'Hold Back The River' by James Bay

~ 'Like I Can' by Sam Smith

~ 'Sugar' by Maroon 5

~ 'Hey Jude' by The Beatles

• Favourite book

~ 'The Casual Vacancy' by J. K. Rowling

• Favourite film

~ Kingsman: The Secret Service (Taron Egerton and Colin Firth OMG! <3)

• Favourite TV show

~ Blackadder Goes Forth (We've been analysing it in my English class and I'd forgotten how much I love it XD It's absolutely brilliant and hilarious!)

• Favourite food

~ Rice cakes

• Favourite Youtubers

~ nigahiga

~ Markiplier

~ Yogscast (For those who know them I met Duncan, Kim and Turps at Comic Con =D)

• Favourite items of clothing

~ My new jeggings (a black pair and a blue pair) which I got at Matalan in Chelmsford 

• Favourite animes

~ Haikyuu!!

~ Kuroko no Basket

Right, that's about it for this week. Happy Spring everyone and I hope that March is going to be an awesome month for you guys!

See you next week! 

Ash xx

Character Review! - Tuesdays with Ash

Heya guys!

Sorry that I didn't post last week guys! It was half-term and I spend most of my time sleeping! A brilliant excuse, I know.

Anywho, a couple of weeks ago Belle did a character review on Ian O'Shea from the book The Host, so I decided that I would do my own review on one of my favourite characters! (Just a heads up, if you guys haven't read Harry Potter yet there will be spoilers ahead so read at your own risk!)

If you hadn't guessed yet, yes this character is from Harry Potter and it is none other than... 

Draco Malfoy!

For you guys who haven't seen or read Harry Potter Draco starts off being one of the main antagonists of the books and stays as Harry's rival through the series, until the very end where he has a change of heart. As many of my friends know I adore this character and I have a crush on the actor who played him spectacularly in the films, who is none other than Tom Felton.

Since this review will be about the Draco in the books, Harry and him first meet in Madam Malkin's which is a clothing shop in Diagon Alley where they are being fitted for robes. They engage in polite conversation but it is clear from the way Draco talks, especially when he talks about pure-bloods being 'our kind' and calling Muggleborns 'mud-bloods' that he is extremely arrogant and Harry instantly has a dislike of him. During this entire exchange Draco has no idea who Harry is until when they meet again on the Hogwarts Express (or outside the Great Hall in the films) and he extends his hand in friendship. 

However, Harry completely disregards him as Draco had previously insulted Ron who Harry had just made friends with. Through the rest of the third year Draco attempts to make Harry's life a misery and even goes as far as to try and expel him. Draco is constantly followed by his 'henchmen' Crabbe and Goyle, and his most famous saying is 'wait till my father hears about this!'

Crabbe (left) and Goyle (right)

Throughout the first four books Draco is portrayed as a bully to Harry and his friends, with Rowling even suggesting that Draco was jealous of Harry's high status as 'The Boy Who Lived' which is shown when Draco ridicules Harry when Lockheart's having a book signing by saying 'you can't even walk into a book ship without making the front page'. Many people may wonder why I like this character so much and I honestly can't explain why, but it will start to make more sense as the book series continues.

It is in the 5th book (The Order of the Phoenix) when you start to see a change in Draco's behaviour, as his father (Lucius Malfoy) is send to Azkaban (a wizard prison) due to Harry revealing him to be a Death Eater (a follower of Voldemort). Draco attempts to hex Harry on the Hogwart's Express but his friends come to the rescue and Draco, Crabbe and Goyle end up going home looking like giant slugs! 

Draco's life takes a turn for the worst in book 6 (The Half-Blood Prince) as he has become a Death Eater and has been given the task of killing Dumbledore. It is told later that if Draco did not succeed in his mission, Voldemort would kill him and his parents instead. Draco spends the whole year trying to fix The Vanishing Cabinet so that the Death Eaters can enter Hogwarts. Draco's character changes drastically as he is shown to become distant from his friends and almost kills Ron and Katie Bell when attempting to kill Dumbledore. Draco himself almost dies when him and Harry have a wand fight (no dirty thoughts here guys!) in Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom but is healed by Snape. When the time comes for Draco to kill Dumbledore, he cannot bring himself to do it so Snape intervenes and all the Death Eaters flee Hogwarts.

Draco injured in Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom

During the last and final book (The Deathly Hallows) it is hard to tell whether Draco is still on Voldemort's side or has turned good. When Harry, Ron and Hermione get captured Draco is forced to identify Harry, in which he says 'it might be'. This is a huge character development for Draco as even though Voldemort has threaten to kill him and his parents, he still won't intentionally give Harry up. This means that there might still be a chance for Draco to prove himself. As well as this when Draco, Crabbe and Goyle flee the burning Room of Requirement with Harry, Ron and Hermione and Crabbe doesn't, it shows Draco morning for his lost friend which shows that even though Crabbe seemed no more than a henchman for Draco he was still considered a dear friend. 

It is also shown during the final confront between Harry and Voldemort that Draco does indeed have a close relationship with his parents. When Narcissa is ordered to check whether Harry is still alive after being struck by the Killing Curse, she lies about his being alive so that she will be able to search Hogwarts for Draco. After Voldemort dies, it is briefly mentioned that the Malfoys are all sitting huddled together showing that they are all alive and well. In the epilogue, Rowling has stated that Draco married Astoria Greengrass (the younger sister of a classmate of his) and they now have a son called Scorpio. When Draco sees Harry, it is shown that he gives him a brief and curt nod which symbolises that their rivalry is other and they are no longer enemies. However, on Pottermore Rowling has also stated that Draco and Astoria are not teaching Scorpio to be scornful at Muggle-borns and only be friends with pure-bloods, which apparently Lucius is not so happy with. But for all I could care, Lucius can go and stick his opinion where the sun don't sun as his son has grown up and has become a better person than what he was. 

Draco, Scorpio and Astoria in Kings Cross Station

This character has gone through many significant changes and has grown up into a good man in front of our very eyes. As you can see from the gif, he obviously deeply cares for his son and wife and I am so glad that he got a happy ending. With the amount of shit that happened in his life, I think that he deserves it. Yes, I admit that he was a douche to the Golden Trio but it is clearly shown in the books that he has grown out of that arrogant boy and if Harry can forgive him then so can you. Even though it may take Ron some convincing otherwise, with him telling his daughter Rosie not to get too friendly with Scorpio, as 'Granddad Weasley would never forgive you if you married a pure-blood'. 

I hope you guys enjoyed this not-so little review about Draco Malfoy and I hope that if you didn't like him before, that you may like him a little bit now. 

See you guys next week!

Ash xx

Book Series' Reviews! (#2) - Tuesdays with Ash

Hey guys! =D

First of all, happy Tuesday! I hope your week started off alright and that the rest of the week is awesome for you! Second of all, welcome to my second instalment of Book Series' Reviews! Once again I shall do three book series so here we go!

1. Gallagher Girls - Ally Carter

I first saw this series on Amazon when I was browsing it one day and it caught my interest, so I bought the first book and ended up buying the rest of the series within the next couple of weeks.

There are 6 books in this series:

1. I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have To Kill You
2. Cross My Heart and Hope To Spy
3. Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover
4. Only the Good Spy Young
5. Out of Sight, Out of Time
6. United We Spy

The story revolves around a young teenage girl named Cammie and she goes to the Gallagher Academy which is a secret girl's school for spies. I loved this book and I think the main reason I was interested by it was that it reminded me of H.I.V.E (look back at my previous Book Series' Reviews to read up on that series). It's absolutely brilliant because as well as dealing with all martial arts classes and special gadget classes Cammie still has to deal with teenage girl drama, including a crush on a boy who has no idea she's a spy...

The blurb of the first book is as follows:

"Do you ever feel like you're invisible? I know I do - just call me Cammie the Chameleon. But at my            school, that's seems as cool. Why? Because the Gallagher Academy might say it's for geniuses, but it's really a school for spies."

Cammie Morgan might be capable of killing a man in seven different ways, but she's about to begin her most dangerous mission yet; falling in love.

(By the way there is actually a blocked out word in the blurb it's not just me XD)

2. Special Agents - Sam Hutton

I seem to have a thing for spy books XD Anyway, I got this book series a long time ago but I still love it even now! This again revolves around a teenage girl called Maddie who trains to become a spy and teams up with two slighter older boys; Alex and Danny. I have to say that I've always had a small crush on Danny as I just find him hilarious and... yeah he's just awesome =3

There's 6 books in this series as follows:

1. Deep End

2. Countdown

3. Final Shot

4. Kiss and Kill

5. Full Throttle

6. Meltdown

Here's the blurb of the first book:

Your life can change in a second. Maddie Copper's did. She and her parents were gunned down in the street by an unknow assailant. Maddie's mother was killed and her Scotland Yard Inspector father was left in a wheelchair. Maddie was injured in the fall, her career as a dancer finished almost before it had begun. Searching for a new role in life, Maddie signs up as a trainee in her father's notorious flying squad: Police Investigation Command. PIC had a roving brief to combat crime in London and Maddie, quick-witted, intelligent and intuitive, is well-equipped to cope with the demands of her new job. She teams up with Alex Cox, an ace undercover man who can slip in and out of accents as easily as he does disguises, and Danny Bell, an electronics whizzkid with a razor-sharp mind. These three talented teenagers have the ability, courage and technical know-how to fight crime, wherever it rears its ugly head on the streets of London.

3. Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer

This series is completely original and this is one of the reasons why I fell in love with it. One of my friends introduced me to it (the same person who introduced me to Eragon) and it's just amazing. The characters are instantly likeable, even though the main character Artemis is a bit of the douche in the beginning but I swear that he gets better! And yes, Artemis is a girl's name but there you go =P You first meet him when he's about 12 and by the end I believe he is about 18 so it's quite a journey as you can tell. I've grown a fond attachment to Artemis as you literally watch him grow up before your eyes and you watch him overcome obstacles in life as well as meet new friends, such as Holly Short who I also love as she's such a badass! By the way, she's also a fairy but I won't give too much away so you'll have to read it for yourself. Also, I believe that the author's name is pronounced 'Owen' if I'm not mistaken. 

There are 8 books in this series as follows:

1. Artemis Fowl

2. Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident

3. Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code

4. Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception

5. Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony

6. Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox

7: Artemis Fowl: The Atlantis Complex

8. Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian

Here's the blurb of the first book:

Artemis Fowl is a 12 year old genius born into the Fowl dynasty, that is, he is heir apparent and an already accomplished master of criminal activities that have founded the Fowl empire; he also has every intention of continuing in his father's footsteps. With his manservant, bodyguard and all round unstoppable man mountain, Butler, Artemis proceeds in his plan to replenish the family coffers with gold... lots of it. But this is no ordinary gold he has his sights on, this is Fairy gold, but then Artemis is no ordinary 12 year old.

So there you have it! Three more book series to have a look at if they have caught your interest! If you do decide to read them then I hope you enjoy them as much as I have!

See you next week!
Ash xx

25 Questions Tag! - Tuesdays with Ash

Hey Guys! =D

So I've decided to take a leaf out of Payton's book, but instead of 21 questions I am doing 25 questions! So, let's get started:

1. Do you have any pets? 

- I did have two Guinea pigs named Bill and Ben, but sadly they died a few years ago =( I also did have quite a few stick insects (the most I ever had at one time was 77!) but I released them into my garden last summer. I wonder how they're doing now...

2. Have you ever broken a bone in your body? 

- Yes I have fractured my right arm before. It happened when a boy landed on my arm on a bouncy castle at my cousin's 18th birthday party. My aunt still feels guilty about it even after all these years!

3. What's the weather like right now? 

- It is night time at the moment so, dark and gloomy. Very exciting. Though it did snow slightly this morning!

4. Do you drive? If so have you crashed? 

- I am learning to drive at the moment so no I haven't properly crashed. However, one time I did mistake the accelerator pedal for the brake pedal (don't worry this wasn't on a road but on a playground at my school!) and almost drove into a digger. My driving instructor just laughed at me.

5. What time did you wake up this morning? 

- I woke up at about 7:50 I think? Yay, early mornings. Fun.

6. When was the last time you showered? 

- I showered last night. What a weird question...

7. What was the last movie you saw? 

- The last movie I saw at the cinema was Big Hero 6 with Lollie and Payton. God I love Baymax!!

8. What does your last text message say? 

- My last text message was to my mum saying 'Thank you xx'. This was because she'd just booked me an appointment for a hair cut which I have now had! I had about 6 inches cut off my hair! =D

9. What's your ringtone? 

- My ringtone is Marimba. A default ringtone on the iPhone 'cause I'm too lazy to change it XD

10. Have you ever been to a different country? 

- Yes I have been to a lot of different countries! To name a few I've been to Australia, New Zealand, Poland, Bulgaria, Greece, France, Ecuador, Wales etc... I've stopped off in Dubai, Amsterdam and Atlanta while on a flight to somewhere else but I don't know if they count.

11. Do you like sushi? 

- Yes I adore sushi!! I recently learnt how to use chopsticks and I'm planning on getting my own pair, 'cause why not?

12. Where do you your shopping? 

- What's with the random questions?? Anyway, my dad does the shopping and he goes either the Co-operative, Tescos, Asda or Morrisons.

13. Where were you born?

- I was born in New Zealand and I came to England when I was about 2 years old. It's quite funny actually because my brother was born in Australia but my parents are both British!

14. How many siblings do you have? 

- As you should already know by reading my answer for the above question I have an older brother named Braden. He's 19 and has an apprenticeship in something to do with computers. I'm not sure what it's actually called so I should probably check up on that... But I'm very proud of him as he's done extremely well for himself =)

15. Do you have a desktop computer or a laptop? 

- I have a laptop but I did share a computer with Braden when we were younger until it unfortunately broke. God I miss that computer. It had such a weird keyboard! As in it was curved and was slightly raised at one end. I don't know how to explain it! XD

16. How old will you be turning on your next birthday? 

- On my next birthday I will be turning 18!! God I'm going to be an adult! That's hella scary! O.o

17. Do you wear contacts or glasses? 

- I don't wear either as I have pretty damn good eyesight if I say so myself.

18. Do you colour your hair? 

- No I don't though I have thought of dying it a darker brown or even dip-dyeing it purple/lilac... However my mum is completely against it so I probably won't be doing it anytime soon =P

19. Tell me something you are planning to do today. 

- Well I am planning on eating some of the butternut squash soup that my dad and I made yesterday soon!

20. When was the last time you cried? 

- Erm, that was yesterday due to me basically 'waking up on the wrong side of the bed' and stressing over things at school.

21. What is your perfect pizza topping? 

- Oh God where do I start?! When I order pizza I usually go for the meat feast as well as loads of cheese! I can't just have one perfect pizza topping!

22. Have you met any celebrities? 

- Yes I have and that would have to be none other than Daniel Radcliffe! Lollie, Payton and I went to Comic Con last year and Payton and I managed to get wrist-bands through a lottery process which were needed to meet Daniel. He was sooo nice and we both got signed posters from him and as well as a few photos. One of the best days of my life =D I also met a few Youtubers including The Yogscast and Tomska who were also extremely nice =D Tomska gives such great hugs!

23. Have you ever had an all-nighter? 

- I've had a few at sleepovers. Though I truly regretted them the next day XD

24. What is your eye color? 

- Usually it's blue but it changes between blue, green and grey (or a mixture of them) depending on what the lighting is like and what I'm wearing.

25. Can you taste the difference between Pepsi and Coke? 

- Yes I can actually as I think that Pepsi has a sorta lighter taste if that makes sense? Though on the whole I have to say that I do prefer Coke. The drink that is not the drug ;)


I hope you guys enjoyed that little Q&A and that you feel like you know me a lot better! 

See you guys next week!

Ash xx

January Favourites! - Tuesdays with Ash

Hey guys! =D

Ash here with my January favourites!! I know for a fact that a lot of bloggers will be doing this thing around about now so I thought, why not join in?

1. Since I just can't choose one song, I have decided to name my top 3: 'You Ruin Me' by The Veronicas, 'Air Guitar' by McBusted and 'Up' by Olly Murs featuring Demi Lovato. 
2. I've been loving the book The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith (aka: J. K. Rowling!) and I plan to finish it very soon!
3. My favourite film has to be Big Hero 6 (which I'm sure Lollie will agree with me on this one!) as I fell in love with the characters and Baymax is just so damn cute!
4. I've been hooked on the TV series recently called In The Flesh and I am so disappointed that it won't be sticking around for a third season! So much wasted potential!! =(
5. This one is going to be quite random but I got a Lynx Attract For Her deodorant body spray for Christmas and it smells gorgeous! It also comes with a shower gel and I've been using that too! Unfortunately though it's limited addition so I'm going to have to stock up on them quickly!
6. Another beauty/healthcare product is AVON Ultra-Moisturising Body Lotion and it does exactly what it says! Also, it's floral scented and smells lovely.
7. One last beauty/healthcare product is my Garnier Exfobrusher and I use this in the shower every other day. It has really helped to clear up my spots recently!

Right, that should be enough I think! Heh, what a coincidence... 7 is my lucky number! =3

I'll see you guys next week for my second instalment of writing tips! Sorry that this post wasn't very long!

Ash xx

My Top 3 Animes! - Tuesdays with Ash

Hey guys! =D

Once again it's Tuesday so you're stuck with my post for today! As usual, I've been struggling to think of an idea for a post when it occurred to me. As well as reading books, what's my other favourite thing to do? It's WATCHING ANIME! =D

If you guys have no idea what anime is, it's basically Japanese cartoons. Most animes are based of manga which is the Japanese equivalent of comic books. Between the two I prefer watching anime than reading manga but I know that other people would disgree with me. I got into anime probably almost 4 years ago when two of my close friends persuaded me to start watching this anime called Naruto. I wish I'd discovered it sooner! =P

Like the post title suggests today I'm going to list my 3 favourite animes that I HIGHLY recommend that you watch. I would list more but, honestly, this post would never end!

1. Naruto/Naruto Shippuden - Kishimoto Masashi

This was the first anime that I ever watched and I was hooked after watching the very first episode! The anime is based of a boy called Naruto Uzumaki who is instantly likeable due to his hyper-activity and his caring yet stubborn personality. He lives in a village called Konoha and he's training to become a ninja like his fellow classmates. He is an outcast in the beginning due to his past (which I shall not mention cause SPOILERS) but he eventually earns everyone's respect and makes friends. The first season is called Naruto (original name I know) and the second season is called Naruto Shippuden where it's been 3 years since we last saw Naruto in the first season and he's all grown up =3

The manga for Naruto Shippuden ended 10th November *cries* after the whole franchise had been going on for 15 years! One of the longest every running manga ever! The anime hasn't caught up to the ending yet but I read the last chapter online and oh my God I cried buckets! D'=

Naruto in the second season

Naruto in the first season (so cute!)

  

2. Attack on Titan 'Shingeki no Kyojin' - Hajime Isayama

This next anime is (I think) the second major anime that I watched and seriously it doesn't mess around! Within the first episode you were thrown into the action and storyline and the plot twists, OH MY GOD THE PLOT TWISTS are amazing because you never see them coming! The protagonist is a teenage boy called Eren Jaeger and in his world there are huge humanoid creatures called Titans that terrorise mankind by eating them. There city is surrounded by a huge wall that keeps the Titans out, until one day the Titans manage to break through. 

Eren signs up to help fight these Titans along with his two best friends and if you don't like gore then you probably won't enjoy this. The animation in this anime is absolutely stunning and the theme tune is so catchy! If you like to watch something with immense action and gore and brilliant story lines with original context then this anime is so for you!

Eren Jaeger

One of the main Titans

3. Kuroko no Basket - Tadatoshi Fujimaki

This next one is quite a strange one for me to watch as it's about a sport and I don't do sports! XD This anime revolves around a basketball team and the two main protagonists are Tetsuya Kuroko (he's meant to be the main character but you wouldn't think it) and Taiga Kagami. This anime is hilarious to watch as Kuroko is practically an invisible boy who doesn't show much emotion (but still adorable) while Kagami is a boisterous hot-head who likes to make his presence known. Even though they are worlds apart personality wise they are best buddies when it comes to basketball and I just love their bromance!  

Kuroko was originally from a famous basketball team called the Generation of Miracles and he was known as the 6th Phantom Player due to people never noticing him and even forgetting about him. However, the Generation of Miracles separated when they moved to different schools and now with the Winter Cup approaching Kuroko will have to face his old teamates once more...

Tetsuya Kuroko

Taiga Kagami

                           

I hope you enjoyed reading this post and that you'll try out some of these animes!

Ash xx

Book Series' Reviews! (#1) - Tuesdays with Ash

Hey guys! =D

Can't believe that it's Tuesday once again! I swear these weeks are getting shorter and shorter as they go by! Anywho, this week's blog is going to be reviews on 3 different book series that I love! However, I shall refrain myself from writing a review about the Harry Potter franchise as I will go on forever and, basically, it's amazing and you should all go and read it. Now.

The series I've chosen are all quite different in their own way so I really hope that you'll see one that you'll enjoy reading! =)

1. H.I.V.E - By Mark Walden

This series is by a very talented author and I read through the entire series in under a week!

There are 6 books in this series:

1. Higher Institute of Villainous Education (H.I.V.E)
2. The Overlord Protocol
3. Escape Velocity, Dreadnought
4. Rogue
5. Zero Hour
6. Aftershock

As you can tell from the title of the first book, this series is based around a school in which teenagers are sent too a secret school *cough* kidnapped *cough* and here they learn all sorts of different spy tricks such as martial arts and building cool technology. It's basically a school to train kids into becoming the next James Bond, but as a villain instead.

Confused? Well, the fact is that there are even more villainous people in these books which these kids have to try and defeat. Even though it may sound a bit strange it shouldn't stop you from reading these amazing books! They are full of action with extremely clever plots as well as the occasional dash of humour here and there. The story focuses around a 13 year old boy called Otto Malpense and his group of friends and I just absolutely adore him as he is just believes he's an ordinary boy, but really he has such a tragic backstory. A bit like Harry Potter actually.

Anyway here's the blurb from the first book:

Thirteen-year-old master criminal Otto Malpense has been chosen to attend H.I.V.E, the top-secret school of villainy. But there is one small catch - he cannot leave until his training is complete. There's no way Otoo is going to spend six years studying something he has such a natural talent for. He is left with one option. Escape. He just needs to figure out how...

2. Chronicles of Ancient Darkness - By Michelle Paver

This next series is an old favourite of mine and I read these books way before I read the H.I.V.E series. This story is based in the time before the ice age and it focuses around a boy named Torak who has to survive on his own after the passing of his father. Luckily though, he finds comradeship in a lone wolf and you get to read about all the adventures they have together. This series is simply wonderful and is so different to any other story that I've read.

The author has clearly done her research into this as there are many different medicines and tribal traditions that take place throughout the book. Also, the point of view change from Torak to Wolf (yes, that is what he ends up naming the wolf) every so often and you get to see the world through Wolf's eyes which I find adorable as he has different names for objects and people. For example, he calls Torak 'Tall Tailless' from which you can guess why he does. At the beginning and end of each book there's a map of their world and they are all beautifully illustrated.

There are 6 books in this series:

1. Wolf Brother
2. Spirit Walker
3. Soul Eater
4. Outcast
5. Oath Breaker
6. Ghost Hunter

Here is the blurb of the first book:

Torak is alone... wounded, terrified and on the run. An outcast like his father, he has avoided all contact with the clans. But now his father lies dead: slaughtered by a demon in the form of a great bear. Somehow, Torak must keep going. His only ally is an orphaned wolf cub...

This book also has a great review from the actor Ian McKellen:

'Like other great children's books which also entrance adults. Wolf Brother conjures up an utterly believable yet original world.'

3. Inheritance Cycle - By Christopher Paolini

This next series is just stunningly beautiful as it creates a whole new world full of magic and most importantly: DRAGONS! This series got recommended to me by a friend of mine and we have a very similar taste in books so I gave it a go and I am so glad I did! The writing style is breathtaking and you seriously will just lose yourself in these books! The author was only 15 when he wrote the first draft of Eragon!

There are 4 books in this series:

1. Eragon
2. Eldest
3. Brisingr
4. Inheritance

They are quite chunky books, with the first one being just shy of 500 pages and the author even included a map of the world in the first couple of pages, just like in the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness. There are also languages called the Ancient Language,  the Dwarf language and the Urgual language and Paolini (no idea how you pronounce his surname by the way) has added in a pronunciation guide at the end of each book! This series focuses on a boy called Eragon who finds a egg in the woods which hatches into a dragon, but someone else is also searching for this dragon and will stop at nothing to find it...

Here's the blurb of the first book:

One boy... One dragon... A world of adventure

When Eragon finds a polishes blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy; perhaps it will buy his family meat for the winter. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon soon realises he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself.

Overnight his simple life is shattered, and he is thrust into a perilous new world of destiny, magic and power. Can Eragon take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders? The fate of the Empire may rest in his hands...

Right, I think that's it from me this week. I could write down quite a few more book series but I'm afraid that it would go on forever!

Hope you guys enjoyed this week's book series' reviews!

Ash xx

Mug Cakes! - Tuesdays with Ash

Hey guys! =D

First of all, a late Happy New Year!! I hope that you have all recovered from your food comas and that your sleep cycles aren't completely destroyed for those of you who have to return to school =P I have a few New Year's resolutions: Lose weight/tone up, procrastinate less, be more active as well as be a lot more organised! Though as you can tell from the title of this post it doesn't really go with my lose weight resolution, so think of this recipe as a little treat for having gone let's say a fortnight of healthy eating. However, don't slip back into your old habits afterwards as I probably would do! 

A quick update on my life, I've just finished my mock exams and now I have the rest of the week off! Woop woop! Even though I know for a fact that I completely mucked my French mock up but hey, what are mocks for? XD However, I am happy with how my other mocks went so that cheered me up =)

Anywho, for Christmas my friend got me a recipe book called, surprise surprise, Mug Cakes by Mima Sinclair. This is an extremely adorable way of making cakes, breads and other little treats quickly in a microwave! My favourite one to make is chocolate brownie as it is absolutely delicious!

Before preparation, please make sure that the mug or cup you use is microwavable and that you check what power settings your microwave has. For example, whether your microwave uses 600W, 800W or 1000W as its highest setting.

Recipe for Chocolate Brownie Mug Cake:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of soft butter 

2 tablespoons of caster sugar

1 tablespoon of light soft brown sugar

1 tablespoon of cocoa powder

1 medium egg yolk

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

4 tablespoons of self-raising flour

A pinch of salt

2 tablespoons of chocolate chips (milk, dark or white or even all three types!)

Method:

1. Place the butter into your microwavable 250ml mug or cup and microwave for 10-20 seconds until melted on high.
2. Add the caster sugar, light brown sugar and cocoa powder and beat with a fork until thoroughly combined.
3. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and beat together, then add the self-raising flour, salt and beat again until thoroughly combined and smooth. Stir some of the chocolates chips into the mixture.
4. Cook in the microwave for 50 seconds at 600W, 30 seconds at 800W or 25 seconds at 1000W depending on what microwave you have. Afterwards, scatter the remaining chocolate chips onto the top of the brownie and cook in the microwave for a further 30 seconds at the same temperature.
5. Leave to cool for 10 minutes (I usually eat it after 5 because I can't wait but if you do this, watch out at it will still be hot inside) and enjoy! =D

I hope that your mug brownies turn out great and that they taste super yummy! I'm going to try making a few different ones (not too many though - gotta lose those calories!) and if another other ones take my interest, I'll post the recipes on here!

See you guys next week!

Ash xx

This is what your chocolate brownie should look like! =D x

Writing Tips - Tuesdays with Ash

Heya guys! =D

As I promised last week, this post is going to be about writing tips. Blimey this week has flown by!

I suppose that most of these tips are focusing on fiction stories, but that doesn't mean that they can't be applied to other genres as well!

1) Read, read, READ!

This is probably the most common tip you will ever hear about writing, but it is completely vital. Reading regularly will help to widen your vocabulary range and may also help improve your writing style. It is also a lot of fun! However, if you wish to extend your vocabulary even further then don't just read the same genre over and over again. Have a stab at reading something different for a change! Always hoarding up on fantasy books about superheroes or mythical creatures? Try reading books about a modern day teenager or about police forces solving crimes. I have to tell you that I'm a sucker for fantasy books *cough* Harry Potter *cough* but recently I've been giving crime books a whirl, mainly books by a guy called Clive Cussler. It isn't something that I would usually read but I am really enjoying his books! I'm reading Cyclops at the moment and I just cannot put it down!

This rule doesn't just apply to novels either, it can also apply to magazines or newspapers or whatever takes your fancy. However, if you are happy with the genre you are reading at the moment then stick with it! There are some types of genres which people can't agree with and I understand that. Just read whatever you like to read and I sure that you'll be coming up with story ideas in no time! Here's a very true (but quite blunt) quote from a famous author:

'If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time — or the tools — to write. Simple as that.' Stephen King

2) Keep a notebook for your story ideas

Having a notebook for any ideas that suddenly pop into your head I think is extremely important. This means that you have plenty of space to develop your idea which will lead into making up characters and devising plots. I find this period of story writing is the most fun as you have complete control over this story and you have the power to make as many plot twists as you like. Cool huh? Also, if you are someone like me who is forever coming up with new ideas (I really need to think up a new word for 'idea') then a notebook is the perfect place to jot them down where you come back to them later.

3) Don't let writer's block get you down!

Ah, yes. A writer's worst nightmare. This phase happens to every single writer and unfortunately it will happen more than once. This can strike at any moment and can carry on days, weeks and even months. However, just because you get a writer's block doesn't mean that it's the end of your story! There are quite simple ways to get around this obstacle. One of the main ones is to leave that story and write something completely different. Doing this will help to get your creative juices flowing and hopefully you'll be back to finishing your story in no time!

However, if this doesn't work for you then just skip that section of the story and concentrate on another bit. For example, if you cannot work out how to get a particle scene going then just skip over it or write the very ending of it. Once you've done this then you should hopefully be able to fill in the missing pieces! One way or another you will get over your writer's block as there is nothing but your lack of imagination stopping you. Seriously though, don't give up on one story if you can't figure out how to continue it. Who knows, maybe one day that story will appear on bookshelves in W. H. Smiths and you'll become world-famous just like J. K. Rowling.

4) Don't overuse 'fancy' words

This tip might sound strange but I find it to be entirely true. I have this one friend who I won't name (they are not one of my fellow bloggers by the way) who does this frequently but refuses to drop the habit. Of course, it's good to use a few long words in your story as it helps to add flavour to it but don't go over the top. For example:

I hasted through the morose woods, my feet were pulverising the bifoliate floor and my heart felt like it was going to extravasate out of my chest.

If I'm honest I would have no idea what some of those 'fancy' words mean if it wasn't for my trusty thesaurus. If you don't know what those words mean exactly then how do you expect some of your readers to know? Anywho, here's another version:

I ran through the dark woods, my feet were hitting the forest floor heavily and my heart felt like it was going to break out of my chest.

Even though it is now kinda plain it is an improvement as now you can understand what is going on. Here's the finished piece:

I scurried through the sinister woods, my feet pounding against the moss-coated ground and my heart felt like it was about to burst out of my chest.

There are still a couple of 'fancy' words in this finished piece but this time they are more understandable and now they also make sense in this context. Once you get this under wraps your story will be a lot more enjoyable to read. Just make sure that if you do use 'fancy' words that you know exactly what context and tense they go into and most importantly, what they actually mean!

5) Get someone else to read your work

Once you have finished a chapter, a section of your story or indeed the whole entire book let a friend read it. When editing your work or rewriting sections it is very hard to do on your own. Getting another person's point of view can be a tremendous help as it can help you to see your story from another angle. For example, when I finished a chapter of a recent story I let a friend read it and they noticed a part of a paragraph which I hadn't noticed that didn't really fit in so I deleted it, which made the paragraph a hell of a lot smoother to read.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope these tips will help you in your story writing and good luck with it! Just remember: don't give up as one day you might see your book in a book store one day =D

On a side note, I hope you guys have an absolutely wonderful Christmas and that Santa got you what you wanted! I'm not sure what I'm going to post next week topic wise so that'll be a surprise for you =P Also, sorry that this post was quite long as I might have gotten a bit carried away with examples or explanation XD Leave me any questions in the comments and I would love to know if these tips have helped you in any way in your creative writing =D

See you guys next week and have a very Merry Christmas! <3

Ash xx

Facts about your Tuesday blogger -- Ash

Hey guys! =D

The name's Ash and welcome to my contribution of The Seven Sweetheart's blog! I'll be posting every Tuesday and keeping you all up to date with what's going on in my life. Which isn't very much as my life mainly consists of stressing over coursework for my A Levels.

School:

While we're on the topic of school, I do French, English Literature, Applied Science and Psychology in Sixth Form. If you don't know what Applied Science is then it's a BTEC and it's basically all three sciences combined (Biology, Chemistry and Physics) along with Forensic Science which I will be covering in Year 13. Cannot wait to do that nitty gritty stuff =D The other good thing about this is that it is 100% coursework so no exam for me! However it does mean that I can oh so easily fall behind on coursework which means that I will get no breaks. Yay. -_-

Hobbies:

My hobbies include reading, writing stories, procrastinating, sleeping, eating, fangirling over certain celebrities *cough* Daniel Radcliffe *cough* and listening to music almost 24/7. I am a total nerd over Harry Potter, Doctor Who, Lord of the Rings (including The Hobbit), Sherlock, Supernatural, Teen Wolf and countless numbers of anime which if I listed them all on here then this post would go on forever. However I must add Naruto to this as this is my favourite anime. "Dattebayo!" to all my fellow Narutards out there!

Facts about my life:

I turned 17 not too long ago and I am waiting for my provisional driving license to arrive. I cannot wait to drive even though I'm a bit worried as on Mario Kart Wii I have road rage. Hopefully though it won't be as bad as people won't be trying to hit me with turtle shells or throw banana skins at me. My favourite animal is an owl and I have over 100 owl ornaments at the moment. This is quite a useful fact to know as when my friends get stuck for ideas they often resort to getting me something owl related. Shout out to Lollie for my lovely owl scarf which I'm wearing as I write this! =P

I've lived in rainy old England for 15 years but I was born and lived in New Zealand for 2 years. I have been back there to visit my Godparents when I was round about 10 years old. My brother who's called Braden was born in Australia and he's 19. We don't talk as much as I would like but I still love him to bits =) I have quite a large extended family, with my grandparents, 5 aunts, 4 uncles, 8 cousins and my little baby second cousin =)

About my posts:

Anywho, enough about my life and more about this blog! Every week I'll try and write about a different topic for you guys to read about. These could be writing tips along with little snippets of stories, recipes for yummy food, certain news articles which have caught my interest or some of my favourite memories as well as my favourite experiences. Next week my next post will be about writing tips so I hope you will enjoy it! XD

Until next time!

Ash xx