Hey, guys and welcome to my August wrap up! I tried to read as many books this month as I did last month, and I think I did alright, to be honest. Being on holiday for 9 days helped a lot though because it meant that I had a lot of time to relax by the pool and just read.

Anyway, let’s get on with the wrap-up!

Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli (review)

Valiant High by Daniel Kibblesmith (review)

Mae Vol. 1 by Gene Ha (review)

ZoJaqan: The Complete Series by Jackson Lanzing (review)

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley (review)

A Bad Boy Stole My Bra by Lauren Price (review)

Lifel1k3 by Jay Kristoff (review)

The Same Blood by M. Azmitia (review)

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton (review)

Traitor to the Throne by Alwyn Hamilton (review)

A Sky Painted Gold by Laura Wood (review)

 

 

European Travel for the Monstruous Gentlewoman by Theodora Goss: This is actually the sequel to The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter, and I’m listening to it on audiobook again because I really like the narrator. The only downside to this audiobook, however, is that it is 24 hours long. It’s a 700-page book. So I’ve listened to about an hour of it so far, and I’m only on 2%… This is going to be a loooooonnnngggg journey.

 

 

Extinction (Netflix): This has such a good concept, but I felt like it didn’t meet my expectations. It definitely had a shocking twist, and I can appreciate that, but it wasn’t an AMAZING film. Still… it’s worth a watch if you want a film that keeps you on the edge of your seat. 3.5/5

How it Ends (Netflix): This was just… horrendous. I have no idea what else to say. I was expecting SO MUCH MORE because of Forest Whitaker is one of the leads, but it was just rubbish. And the ending??!! WHAT WAS THAT? It was just shocking (and not in a good way!) 1/5

Pacific Rim: So you can obviously tell I was on an end-of-the-world-film binge. Pacific Rim is a film that I’ve been meaning to watch for so long. I actually really enjoyed it. I thought the acting by Charlie Heaton wasn’t good though. You can definitely see how much he has grown as an actor because his acting in Pacific Rim is well… rigid. But the rest of the acting was good, and it was so good to see Idris Elba. This was a good surprise! 3.5/5

Pacific Rim: Uprising: Obviously, after watching Pacific Rim, I had to watch the new film and oh dear God, it was a letdown. It was really good to see John Boyega in another role other than Star Wars, but this wasn’t a good sequel… The bad guys get bigger and better but it’s technically the same storyline as the first one. 2.5/5

Prometheus: I’ve been meaning to watch the Alien films FOR SO LONG! But I didn’t know which order to watch them in… Watch the originals first and then the prequels? Or the prequels and then the originals? So I decided to watch the prequels first so that I could watch them in the plotlines chronological order. I actually really enjoyed this film. I’ve seen a before when it first came out, but I couldn’t remember what happens, so I decided to watch it again. It’s so dark and terrifying, but I think the let down of the film for me was Michael Fassbender. I know that he’s an AI, but I don’t know… He just didn’t really add much to the plot for me… 3.75/5

Alien: Covenent: The second prequel in the Alien trilogy and we follow a different set of explorers who uncover the secret of the Alien species. Michael Fassbender makes another appearance in this film, but his role in it is much darker and much more entertaining to watch. He actually reminded me of a character in Lauren James’ The Loneliest Girl in the Universe. 4/5

 

 

The Darkest Minds: This was an adaption that I WAS SO EXCITED FOR! I haven’t actually read the books by Alexandra Bracken (I know, I know… Don’t hurt me) but the film looked really good, and I was so happy to see Amandla Stenberg in YET ANOTHER YA adaptation film. She was in Everything, Everything, this, and then she’s also in The Hate U Give. However, The Darkest Minds movie wasn’t as good as I thought it would be. It felt like recycled plot points from The Hunger Games, Divergent, and other dystopian films. The acting was amazing from Stenberg, and I can’t wait to see how she portrays Starr in The Hate U Give, but this film just wasn’t that great. 3/5

Spirited Away: Ahhhh this is just a classic. I have loved this film ever since I was 7-years-old, and I have seen it countless amounts of times. But there was an opportunity to see Spirited Away in the cinema and I jumped at the chance to see it on the big screen. If you don’t know what Spirited Away is about, it follows Chihiro as she enters a spirit world by accident as her parents are turned into pigs. Whilst in the spirit world, she must follow the rules or be kept in that world forever and never free her parents. IT’S SO GOOD; a Studio Ghibli classic. 5/5

To all the Boys I’ve Loved Before (Netflix): What can I say that hasn’t been said on Twitter already? My love for Lana Candor and Noah Centineo is about to burst my heart. I love them both so much. As for the actual film, it’s the cheesy rom-com that I have needed my entire life. It’s just perfection. Loads of people a similar age to me has said that it’s really cheesy and babyish, BUT THAT’S THE POINT! IT’S A CHEESY ROM COM, and I have now seen it about 12 times? Or something like that? This is another YA adaptation and was adapted by Netflix from Jenny Han’s bestselling YA trilogy. So that means that there’s a possibility of there being two more films and I need them so badly. 5/5

Into the Storm: I do love a good disaster movie, and this film had me on edge the entire time. It’s about a town that is hit with 4 tornados one after the other, and about one family trying to stick together throughout, and then also about a team of tornado-stalker people who want to try and get into the eye of the storm to get the once-in-a-lifetime shot. It’s a good film, to be honest. It’s a pretty formulaic disaster film, and you can guess what happens, but it’s still a good thriller. 3.75/5

Detroit: Another film with John Boyega in! The way that this film is marketed makes it seem like he’s actually the main character in this film, but he’s not. He’s in the supporting cast. This film is about the racial conflict in the late 60’s in Detroit and follows the true story of how Detroit policeman killed and brutally beat black men, but then tried to cover it up. It’s such an angry, emotional film and honestly, I cried. I cried because I can’t believe that humans could treat other humans like that (and we still do). 4.5/5

Before I Go To Sleep: Yet another thriller film. This film is based upon the eponymous book by S.J Watson WHO WAS ACTUALLY BORN AND RAISED IN THE EXACT TOWN WHERE I LIVE WHICH IS AMAZING! You never hear of any famous authors who live in Stourbridge, so it’s pretty cool to have a local author get his debut novel adapted into a massive film with Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth. It’s a good film, to be honest. It definitely has it’s good moments, and it definitely has you on the edge of your seat. But sometimes, Nicole Kidman’s character annoyed me, but I guess that’s just because she’s made out to be an untrustworthy protagonist. 3.5/5

 

 

Not much to report on in the life update part. I went to Malta on holiday with my parents and my little sister, and it was such a good, relaxing holiday. We went to Meliehha, and I would definitely go back there again. It was just perfect. It was 35-degree weather (which I am NOT used to), the food was cheap and perfection, and ugghhhh. It was so good.

But then I came back from holiday, and I had to face reality again and go back to my job. The first day I started back to work, I sat in the staffroom and had a mental breakdown. I must have been having a panic attack for about 15 minutes because I really didn’t want to go back and face my boss. But I got it over with, and after four weeks, I still hate being back, but it’s money so I’ve just got to get on with it.

As you can see, I went on a bit of a sci-fi/dystopian film binge, and I loved it. I do love watching loads of TV and films and I was just in the mood for some end-of-the-world films that matched my mood.

I also started preparing for university. I spend £20 on notebooks and a folder which is a ridiculous amount of money, but it had to be done. I also had to buy all the books I needed for my last year of university. You can see in my August book haul that I’ve bought quite a few books or uni. I’m studying Science Fiction, Writing the Novel, Affect and Emotion in the Media, and then I also have my dissertation on top of that. The next year is going to be so stressful. In June, I will have finished my university course, and I’ll be graduating. It’s so scary…

 

 

So there you go, there is my August wrap up. I read so many books this month, and I also watched loads of films, but it’s been a story-filled month and unfortunately, it’s going to be last month that happens for a while because of me going back to university in September.

Until next time…