Favourite Fictional Character - Paper Towns Edition - Ben Starling

I'm going to introduce you to one of my top favourite fictional characters... Ben Starling.
John Green created this character for his book 'Paper Towns' and I am so glad he did! Although the thing I love the most with fictional characters is the character development, (process of creating a believable character in fiction by giving the character depth and personality) this book is not focused on Ben so what we read is what we get and I loved every sentence he blurted out and every action he made! Ben is a very confident and goofy guy who is always cracking out ridiculous jokes and scaring girls away with his nickname for them which is 'honey bunny'. While being the clown of his friendship group, he is also a very loyal friend and that is shown when he travels with his best friend Quentin, to find the love of his life, Margo Roth Spiegleman. He also does a lot of crazy and sometimes offensive stuff such as; getting drunk, having a beer can sword glued to his hand, peeing in cans during the roadtrip, wearing a world's best grandma top etc. but he is definitely the highlight of this book and everyone loves a comedic character, am I right? When I read this book I honestly thought I was going to fall in love with the main characters as usual (Quentin and Margo), but for this book that wasn't the case, during my time reading this, I fell more and more in love with Ben and often found myself smiling at the book because of something he had said. Like I said at the beginning, he's very goofy and always trying to impress every female at his school, so when one of the most popular girls in the school, Lacey, agrees to be his date for the prom, it surprised everyone and I'm glad he got his happy ending. When this was turned into a film, I was a little nervous about who was going to play Ben Starling and if the actor could really play up to the book Ben's standards. Boy was I impressed!? Austin Abrams was the lucky guy and he was AMAZING at this role! I honestly couldn't ever think of anyone else who could play Ben because he is just such a perfect fit! Every scene taken from the book and put into the film that involved Ben was absolutely spot on! I'm proud to have him as one of my favourite fictional characters!

My favourite Ben Starling moment in the book:

I honestly advise you all to read this book and watch the film because it has some incredible characters in there, but I want you guys to focus on Ben Starling! Hehe. :)

                     Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this post because I'll be sharing more of my                                                         favourite fictional characters soon! 

- Shelby xxx

Summer Under My Quilt - Book Review

Megan Creeway spent the summer at her grandparent’s lake house. Her life had imploded and she didn’t know how to get it back. Her husband was a cheat, her son was outgrowing his mother, and her grandpa was very sick. Seeking refuge from it all, the one thing she did not expect, was to find herself being courted by the very handsome local Pastor.
Reid Stone was finally enjoying his life three years after a divorce. He started over in the quaint town of Lake Charlotte as the pastor of the local church. He quickly made friends yet still led a peaceful quiet life of bachelorhood.

I was approached by the wonderful Pecan Summers to review Summer Under My Quilt by Crystal Sellers and boy, am I glad I said yes! This book is 100% a page turner and once you stop, it's pretty difficult to stop! This book is filled with so much family, heartbreak, love and growth. It is also a very warm and cosy story where you really do feel like you're wrapped up in a quilt just like Megan's. These kind of romance books give me so much hope on having such a spontaneous and truly romantic love story of my own. The characters are truly incredible and you feel like you know them by the end of this book in a personal way. (Except Bobby but you'll have to read to find out about that human being!) The growth between Megan and Reid is definitely something all girls only dream of and the ending made my heart melt a little! How I love a good ending! This book also teaches you that no matter your age, you can still have a life full of romance and the older guys can definitely still make you swoon! Honestly, I was expecting this book to have a kind of 50 Shades vibe to it (probably not as risqué) but I'm glad Crystal didn't go down that path because it makes the book so much more innocent and as I am an old fashioned person, it was lovely to just see the romance blossom instead of how their sex lives was! 

I really loved Megan because she shows you that at a young age you will find the love of your life and you will believe that you'll be together forever but that's not always the case... People change, live's change and that's not always a bad thing. Megan had her heart broke by her high school sweetheart but it was the best thing that ever happened to her because she met Pastor Stone and she gained something so much more real and true, she found someone who respected her and showed her off the entire world! That is exactly what we all deserve and will get one day. Just remember, no matter how old you are, don't EVER lose hope in love because it will come to you at the right time, in the right moment!

I recommend you all to read this book and join Megan's journey of heartbreak to happiness.

Thank you Crystal and Pecan Summers for giving me the opportunity to read and review your book. I am forever thankful! 

About the Author!

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Crystal Sellers was born in a small town in Oklahoma where she was raised in the country and lived a very simple life. Her parents didn’t have much, but her needs were always met. Her siblings include one younger brother as well as an older step sister and younger step brother. She was born into a big close-knit family with lots of aunts, uncles and cousins. Crystal was the first born grandchild on her mother’s side and her papa’s world. She was born with a disability and went through a lot growing up; seeing doctors, wearing braces, surgeries, and physical therapy was a big part of her young life. Though it never slowed her down. Despite her disability she always found a way to make things happen. Crystal met her husband just out of high school. They have been married for Fifteen years. They have a teenage son. He is the joy in their lives. Her family is the light of her life and the reason to keep going every day. Also part of the family are three mini dachshund’s; the bosses of the house. Writing is just one of her passions. A way to escape to a world that she can only dream of.

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                                                                   - Shelby xxx

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A Walk To Remember - Book Review

Every April, when the wind blows from the sea and mingles with the scent of lilacs, Landon Carter remembers his last year at Beaufort High. It was 1958, and Landon had already dated a girl or two. He even swore that he had once been in love. Certainly the last person in town he thought he'd fall for was Jamie Sullivan, the daughter of the town's Baptist minister. A quiet girl who always carried a Bible with her schoolbooks, Jamie seemed content living in a world apart from the other teens. She took care of her widowed father, rescued hurt animals, and helped out at the local orphanage. No boy had 
ever asked her out. Landon would never have dreamed of it. Then a twist of fate made Jamie his partner for the homecoming dance, and Landon Carter's life would never be the same. Being with Jamie would show him the depths of the human heart and lead him to a decision so stunning it would send him irrevocably on the road to manhood...

On February 14th 2016, a Sunday to be exact, I was lost in the world of romance films being as it was Valentine's Day and I'm a single lady so fictional characters is all I have to swoon over at this moment in my life, I was sat recovering from another Sparks story 'The Best of Me' and wasn't too sure on which film to watch next as I didn't know if I could take anymore. I was ranting to my best friend about how Nicholas' stories usually end in happy endings, she gave me a film of his that did NOT have a happy ending and instead of choosing a happier romance film, I risked this one... I didn't realise how messed up I was going to be after it was over. 

Being as this book was set in the 50's, I knew I was going to fall in love with the people and everything about this book immediately! So I'm going to start with ONE and just ONE negative observation about this book, if you aren't religious like me, it can sort of get rather slow placed when the religious parts appear and let me tell you, there's a lot of religious speaking involved in this book and it definitely takes over the growth of Landon and Jamie's relationship. 

Anyway, on to the good parts! I have to say that Landon Carter is definitely now on my list of favourite fictional characters EVER! The story and bond between Landon and Jamie throughout this book is just so, so, so beautiful and unfortunately for me, my standards are getting even higher when it comes to guys. Damn you Landon! I picture Landon as your typical teddy boy who thinks he's too cool for everybody and Jamie is too much of a 'square' to get any attention from her peers. Personally, I think Jamie is such a beautiful character and is very much too good to be true, if only we had people like Jamie! 

There's so many moments in this book that made me have to catch my breath because I'm a sucker for romance and some of it was too much for me! A couple of examples would be, the moment Landon saw Jamie for the first time with her hair down, little things such as walking her home etc. The one thing that made me gasp while I was on the bus one day was the chapter which involved Landon collecting 70 cans around the town for Jamie so she could collect all the money that had been donated and buy new toys for the children at the orphanage she volunteered at regularly, the end total came to $55.73 which, under Jamie's influence, began to dishearten Landon so he secretly put in his own donation, making the official total cost, $247.00. You are becoming a true gentleman, Landon!

The influence Jamie has on Landon throughout this entire book was so powerful and honestly, it's amazing to see what being in love can do to a person. Sometimes the person you don't take notice of, you don't have any interest in, is the one for you but you just don't know it because of your own and others judgements. 

Although, this book is full of happiness and romance, being a Sparks novel, there always comes a tragedy... Jamie being diagnosed with Leukaemia was the most heartbreaking thing I had ever witnessed in a film and a book! I was just not ready for what was coming! You sit there and have faith that by the end, Jamie will still be smiling and standing strong, but those were not Sparks' intentions for this one. The fact that I had to witness them getting married, knowing that Jamie and Landon wasn't going to have the marriage they truly deserved, broke me, it tore me up into pieces! 

We didn't get the happy ending we wanted but it was a beautiful story (which made me hate life and cry for about an hour), and it is one story I will keep close to me because Nicholas really does have a way with words and I never cry at books so, well done Nicholas for finally cracking me. People aren't always going to approve who you love, some people will even go great distances to keep people apart, but if you really love someone, you will face all obstacles together and still be together at the end. 

5 STARS!!!!!!!

If you want to know about the author, here's a couple of his social medias:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NicholasSparks

Website: http://uk.nicholassparks.com/

- Shelby xxx

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones - Book Review

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder - much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing - not even a smear of blood - to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy? This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know...

My Review: Okay so, I don't really know why it's took me so long to start reading this series but I'm so glad I finally took a chance and purchased the first book on my kindle! Cassandra describes such a supernatural but realistic world which literally makes your toes curl because of how extraordinarily written this whole book is! From the world itself, to the characters, everything is so easy to imagine and you can honestly get lost in this world! My favourite relationship throughout this entire book has definitely got to be Jace and Clary's, I was kind of gutted when (spoiler alert) you eventually find out they're brother and sister, as the whole romance was blossoming and now it kind of just has to disappear all of a sudden! Jace is a very charming, slightly self-obsessed, cheeky kind of guy and he does become very irresistible, even just for a fictional character! Another relationship that I loved to see grow throughout this book was Alec and Clary's 'friendship' or whatever they would call it. They met each other, not being able to stand one another but by the end of the book, having spent so much time together, you can see that Alec has finally put all things aside and decided to give Clary a chance. Simon was also a great character to add to a book, there is a hell of a lot of supernatural throughout such as vampires, werewolves, warlocks etc. So Simon brought some normality as a 'mundane', as the Shadowhunters would call him.

A lot goes on throughout this book such as lies, betrayal, death and honestly, as painful as those type of elements can be, it's great to have them in there so you feel the need to keep reading, to find out what happens next! The whole supernatural world was just incredible, not only did Cassandra bring in your typical, popular supernatural creatures, she also made some up herself which amazes me but also baffles me at the same time! The fact that Cassandra can come up with a storyline as spontaneous and outside of the box like The Mortal Instruments, I am absolutely green with envy!

This book had 799 pages to it, so I was like, damn, this is going to be one long journey and I'll probably lose interest because of how long the book is... I was so wrong! I think it's took me about a month to read, mainly because of work and what not, I probably would have read it much quicker. It is a book that is hard to put down and I enjoyed every single chapter of this book. I loved finding out about Jocelyn, Luke and Valentine, the story behind them and how Clary became who she was, was just all so interesting and you was just greedy for more! I can't wait to read the next book and the next and the next etc. (This is one big series!) Over I give this a 5* rating because it's just PER-FECT!!

If you want to find out more about the author then here's a couple of her links! :)
http://www.cassandraclare.com/
https://twitter.com/cassieclare

                                                 - Shelby xxx