The Pen and Inkpot

I hadn't actually heard of this novel before it appeared in my August Once Upon a Book Club Box, but I am definitely glad I read it. It is difficult to put a single genre to it because there was so much variety in the novel: adventure, paranormal, romance, mystery. All of these genres got blended together to create the unique novel that is "Notes From My Captivity". Adrienne's father was killed by a drunk driver seven years ago. Now she lives with her worried mother, evil step brother and obsessed step father. Adrienne can't help but dislike her stepdad, Dan, because he is trying to take the place of her real father and no one can do that.  He also happens to be fascinated by a mythical family called the Osinovs who supposedly live in the Siberian wilderness. When Adrienne pretends to be interested in Dan's obsession, she gets brought along to an expedition into the Siberian wilderness. Her secret plan is to stack up the evidence against the existence...

I have started watching Miss Marple and Agatha Christie's murder mysteries on TV for a while now and this is the first of her novels that I have picked up. It did not disappoint me. After every good mystery novel I read, I am overcome with awe at how the author managed to create so many complicated layers to the crime, and this was no different. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd ties three crimes into one messy mystery making every character seem suspicious. I am the sort of person who likes to try and solve the crime alongside the detective in the novel and multiple times throughout The Murder of Roger Ackroyd I thought I knew who did the crime. In the end I was entirely wrong which meant that it was a good mystery. The biggest crime for an author is a predictable ending. A very brief summary: (because I don't want to spoil it for you) Mrs Ferrars died on Thursday, September 16th. Mr Ferrars had died one year earlier. Rumour has it that she poisoned her husband, but the l...

The editing process for most of the photos I use on my blog is quite simple and only involves adding filters. On the other hand, if you have checked out my instagram account, you will see that in some of my photos, I use a lot more than that. I currently do not own a laptop or computer, so I do all my editing on my iPad (which is not as difficult as you might think). In this post I will take you through my editing process and the apps I use. Keynote This is an app that comes already loaded onto an iPad and is meant for making presentations, but I have found it useful for other things too. When an image is added to a slide, you have the option of using "instant alpha" which is kind of like green screen. It means that I can take away the coloured background of a photo. I can also use keynote to  layer images on top of each other and play with the opacity. Also, if I want to cut out part of an image that is a difficult shape, I can use the app Picollage which...

I have seen so many movies and musicals of 'Alice In Wondeland' that I thought it was about time that I read the actual novel. We all know the story of the girl who falls down a rabbit hole and meets a cheshire cat. But do you really know everything that happened down in Wonderland? After reading "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland", I was pleasantly surprised. I found it quite humorous and entertaining with all of the aspects of a classic novel. I loved the old language and mannerisms of Alice as a girl in 1865. The novel is so creative and unique and although it is a children's novel, I found that there were still deeper meanings in Alice's strange world.  Overall, I loved the funny, strange and fascinating ideas in "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and found it suitable for both adults and children. This novel is a classic that you must read at some point in your life.  Thanks for reading another blog post, feel free to...

This novel was interesting and entertaining to read. It seemed a shame that it felt like almost every aspect of this novel I had read before. The overall idea was so similar to other dystopian novels I have read and even many details were cliche. It seemed like a copy of Divergent with different characters and different settings but the same events and plot line.  A girl lives in an "ideal" world and doesn't doubt it until her mind starts to rebel and she realises that the world is bigger than the wall she is trapped inside. After a series of events, the girl escapes with a guy and they fall in love. Sound familiar? This is exactly what happens in Divergent too! In a nutshell, that is vaguely what happens in "The State of Grace" but here is a more specific blurb.  Although nobody exists beyond the garden where Wren lives, that doesn't matter since she has everything she will ever need. Living in paradise, a  community with freedom and fun, every...

I have recently made an amazing discovery. Checking out magazines in a news agency shop, I stumbled across the very first edition of the Teen Breathe Magazine. I didn't buy it at the time but later I purchased the second and third issues and have absolutely adored them. Breathe magazine has apparently been around for a long time and they have finally released this new version aimed at teenagers. I find the design of the pages beautiful and the articles very uplifting. Articles in the magazine cover topics including body image, peer pressure and friendships, along with lighter subjects including hobbies, creative project ideas and setting goals.   Teen Breathe magazine focuses on empowering teenagers and giving them hints and advice in a positive way. The craft and hobby pages are usually my favourites and I can see a whole range of age groups enjoying reading it, not just teens. I would recommend checking out the Teen Breathe Magazine and it just might become your new favo...

I have been left with quite mixed feelings about Black Rabbit Hall after reading it. I began the story expecting a cunning mystery but it ended up being more of a teenage love story. That is a little bit of an exaggeration, but I will explain after a short summary of the book. Amber lives a happy life spending the Autumn and Spring at Black Rabbit Hall with her family. They love that place. No one seems to mind the ivy crawling up the outside walls and  the fact that none of the clocks work. Black Rabbit Hall has always been a happy place for Amber. One ordinary afternoon, that changes and her life takes a dozen twists and turns that she could never have predicted.  30 years later, Lorna and her husband are driving through the Cornish countryside trying to find the perfect venue for their wedding.  After getting lost, running over a deer and being soaked in rain, the couple arrives at Pencraw Hall, or what the locals call Black Rabbit Hall. She immediately ...