Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas | Book Review

I finished the book two days ago. I meant to write a review right away but I was busy this past weekend, so I just decided to wait a little. I borrowed this book from one of my friends who insisted to read it. She told me it would become one of my favorites and that it is different from everything I have read before. So I read it and I have to agree with her, it is such a good book and very unique indeed.

First of all if you haven't read the book yet, I have to warn you that this might have spoilers. If you are interested on reading this book you can click on the link of the the Summary of the book, so that you can know what it is about and continue on reading my review.

Now that that is all clear, let's start...

The first positive aspect for me was that there wasn't a love triangle, well, not in the first book actually. You can predict that it wil have a love triangle in the next book maybe, but it won't be the main focus of the whole series. That's an other thing that made me like this book, the "romance" didn't overshadow the action, main story and mystery of the book. It just made the book more addictive and pleasant to read.

Talking about reading, the way this book was written made it very smooth to read (I read it in portuguese). The dialogues were very hooking, I just didn't want to stop reading their interactions. And the way the details were described enriched the book, like for an example the fight scenes, they were described with such precision that I thought I was in the middle of that fight and that I was part of the story. It may not be that pleasant actually, if you think about it, but I love feeling like I'm a part of the book.

Still talking about the writing, the book was written in different perspectives. But the different thing was that each character did not have it's own chapter. It was kind of confusing at first because continuing to the next paragraph you realize that it is another character talking, but later I noticed that that made the book a lot more interesting. Because it narrated the characters point of view like if they were all in the same place. Let me see if I can explain better for you...It is like if there were like two characters at the same place and the book narrates one characters perspective first than it narrates the other. Or, another example, is when two characters are in different places but the author narrates them as they were in the same time.

I hope you understood my explanation...

Now let's talk about the characters. Celaena was just the most awesome main character ever. She is feisty, spirited, sarcastic, smart and very bad ass. I loved reading her dialogues with the other characters, her presence made everything more lively. Second character  is Prince Dorian, he was just so charming and very prince like of course. He made the dialogues with Celaena even more awesome. And I really liked his personality, he wasn't like a snobby typical prince, he was courageous and cared for others.

Third Character and the last one I'm going to review is Chaol. He was a guard and best friend of Dorian. Although he was very unkind in the begining, he showed that he was very warmhearted and caring, specially when it came to his friends Cealena and Dorian.

I'm not going to talk about the other characters, just to not give the story away. Every character has an important role in the book, so it might give a little of the story.

Now a little about the mystery. You might think that the main focus of the book is finding the killer of the competitors and that is the mystery. But I noticed, you might have noticed too, that the ''mystery" of the killer leads to a much bigger picture. To Magic. And that is the mystery that will probably be solved is the other books.

To wrap up I'll say that I loved the book and that I'm planning to continue the series. And of course reviewing the series here on my blog. So I hope you all liked this review,

Have a great day and week,

Ana

What To Do On Your Winter/Summer Break? | 20 Ideas

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Who doesn't love summer and winter break? There's no school, no homework, no projects and no stress. You can stay home all day, sleep late and wake up when you feel like it, but let's agree that it can be kind of boring sometimes when you do the same old thing every summer and every day, specially when it is just staying at home all day long. So, I thought of wirting down 20 ideas to inspire, not just you guys, but actually myself to make most of this year's winter/summer break. If you guys don't have a clue of what to do in this year's break, feel free to try some of these ideas out. They are quite simple and I can asure you that you wouldn't need my help to come up with them at all, but if you are in a desperate need of something to do right now, I think the ideas listed bellow can help you in some way.

So let's start, shall we?

1. Movie night 

Movie night is just a more grown up name for sleep over, in my opion. I love doing this, specially with my friends on a friday night. You can make some popcorn and other delicious food to eat while watching a great movie. It is just a very good way to reunite your best friends to catch up and plan activities for the winter and summer break.

2. Explore your city

I absolutely love doing this. Sometimes you think that there's nothing to do in your city and that you just want to visit other places. That is fun too, but maybe you are overlooking the great things that your city has, maybe there's some museums to visit, or maybe there's a concert happening or other cultural events. So, I extremely advise you to look up on the internet and inform yourself of what is happening in your city that you can be a part of.

3. DIY

A vey simple idea, but sometimes we can forget that it exists. If you have some old clothes or something that you had enough of, you can try diy it. It can make it look different and as if it was good as new. I love doing diys on my old denim pants, I just cut them and transform them in to cute shorts for the summer. You can add lace and cool things to make them more your style too. Another thing I like to do is collages, I love searching for images in my magazines and making an inspirational board.

4. Find new and different restaurants

I have a friends that loves discovering new places to eat. You might think that there is non in my city, but than she surprises you with a super cool and different restaurant to go to. Do a research on the internet and find new places to go to, maybe some mexican food or vegan food, I can asure that it will be lots of fun trying out new foods, specially when accompanied with friends.

5. Participate in a book marathon

There are a lot of marathons happening on youtube, you just have to find the one that fits you the best and just jump right in to it. A readathon is one of the best ways to read alot during breaks, you can read all the books you have to and still have fun with the different challenges that happend during it.

6. Bake something different

I love doing a baking day with my mom, she teaches me different dishes and desserts. It is very fun and distracting to bake, I really recommend you doing this it can really help to calm down and become stress free. And trying new recipes is just so fun and challenging, and if it turns out good you can totaly take a picture and post on any social media you want.

7. Teach yourself a new language

This is probably one of the most challenging ideas, but I asure you it is lots of fun. I am currently in the process of teaching myself french and italian, I know that if I want to be fluent in the language I will have to look up a course, but for now I am happy to now just the basics. It can be a very good experience if you like learning languages and new skills.

8. Learn a new skill

This one kind of goes in hand with the one above, but the skill that you can learn doesn't need to be something as dificult as a language. It can be as simple as baking, drawing, painting, decorating, singing, dancing and writing. You just have to choose the one that you are interested in and go for it.

9. Go on a trip

This is probably the most common idea ever, but I decided to write it here just to remind you that the trip doesn't need to be a huge one. It can be as simple as going on a road trip to the nearst town or beach, or just a trip to visit family and relatives. I think road trips are the best, specially with friends.

10. Enroll on a course

There are a lot of short summer courses that you can try out (This idea comes hand in hand with n° 8). If you are interested in dancing, you can enroll in a ballet or jazz course for the break, and if you really enjoyed it, it can become your new hobby for the rest of the year.

11. Prepare for the new school year

This one can be kind of sad to think about, specially when the only thing you want to think about is your break and that you never want it to end. But everyone knows that it will end sooner or later and that you better be prepare for it. Buy new school supplies, clothes, organize your agenda and make sure you did every single thing you wanted to do in the summer.

12. Journal your break

This is a great idea to keep you memories organized and all in one place, because you can always go back to them and relive some. The way I like to journal is with my blog, but you can journal through pictures or just the old fashion way of journaling, with a actual jounal or diary.

13. Start a blog

Simple idea, but a really fun one. I started my blog in december ( on my summer break), because I was bored and just wanted to do something different, and I wouldn't have guessed that I would love doing so. It is a great way to share your experiences that you had on your winter/summer break, and maybe it can become something that you really love doing.

14. Explore Netflix

If you are bored of watching the same old thing over and over again, I recommend you to explore netflix and find new movies and tv series that you would not think you would like. Whatch the first episode or the first 15 min, it can become your new favorite movie or show. Personally I love looking for those independent movies, that are not well known at all and watching it.

15. Go on a picnic

Very simple, but it can be a lot fun if you are with the right pepople, in the right place and with the right food. It is an awesome idea to just get out of the house and explore the nature around you, and plus you can bring some delicious snacks to make it all more memorable. And with friends everything becomes 100 times better.

16. Renovate your room

Is always good to make a change, why not change your room a little? Decorate your walls, diy some furniture, change the beding, paint the wall or find a theme maybe. I recommend you looking up some ideas on pinterest to inspire you to change your room. I think renovating your bedroom is the best way to star fresh in the new school year.

17. Sell, Swap and Buy Clothes

Another way to star fresh in the new school year is to declutter your closet. Separate the things you don't need and don't use and you can sell them on the internet or donate it, you can even swap with some friends. And after all of the selling and swapping, you can buy some new clothes to start the new year and that fit more your current style.

18. Start your own business

You know the clothes that you want to sell to help declutter yout closet? So why not open your own vintage shop at home or on the inernet? That is a very nice way to make some money for your break adventures and a good experience for a future curriculum or job. 

Or maybe if you like baking and you make delicious treats, you can sell them online or around your neighborhood. If you are good at something and you can make a business with it, try it! It can be a very nice way to enjoy your summer.

19. Spa Day

Maybe sometimes you just need time to relax by yourself and refresh your self. A spa day at home is the best idea, you can treat your hair and skin, and still watch some netflix. You can try a new homemade mask that you have seen on youtube and pinterest or just buy those already made mask at a near drugstore. Just enjoy your relax day.

20. Start Fresh

It can be by a new haircut, new clothes, a renovated room, a new job or a new skill. You name it. there are a lot of ways to start fresh, you just have to have the courage to try it. And the summer is the perfect time for that, because you have time to try new things. So, start fresh but always being true to yourself.

I hope you all enjoyed this post and that you are having a great summer. Enjoy every minute of your summer or winter break. Feel free to try some of these ideas out,

Ana

Update + Favorite Winter Outfit

Thought of just writing an update post of the past 2 weeks and what is happening in my life right now. Well not much actually, I have been extremely busy with school, we started finals week last week and it is just going to end this next friday. But happly this is going to be the last week before the school games, the last week of tests and there is less than two weeks for our winter break. 

You can be sure that I will be posting a lot of times on my blog this winter break, writing some interesting and creative stuff, because I been noticing the lack of contenent on this blog. I am usually doing some easy and simple posting just to keep the blog active, because if I didn't I'd probably not post for months. 

So my plans for this 2-week break is to read alot and do some new things around my city. I am curently reading Throne of Glass by Sarah J Mass, and I am loving it. The characters are so likeable and the story so different, but I not going to say much about my opinion on the book because I want to save it for a review.

My friends and I are planning on doing like a city tour and visit some museums and new cafes in the city. I think is so much fun to explore the city you live in and discover new things and places, I love doing that on a Saturday specially.

So now for my favorite winter pieces... I am a very basic person, so there is nothing special about my taste of fashion, specially in the winter season. My favorite sweater rigth now is this knit grey one from Hollister. I got it a few years ago and it is still my favorite. I love the cool way it look, The of the shoulder style makes it look effortless.

And for the bottoms, this pair of basic dark blue distress jeans. They are from Aeropostale and I got them for like 6 dollars on sale, but the speacial thing about them is that I made the rips myself. They were just a boring pair of jeans and I rarely wore them at all. So I decided that I would make a little DIY project and make these jeans look cool and modern. So that happend and they became my favorite pair of jeans ever.

So I hope you enjoyed this little update post and I promise you all that I will be more consistent on this blog when in winter break. Have a great week,

Ana