Happy Summer Everyone! School's out now so I have more free time to blog. I am so excited for this summer because I'm going to be busy—but the good kind of busy! Anyways, I have a few favourites this week that I would love to share with you. So if you are interested in finding out, then keep reading! 

#1

Oh...my...goodness. This book. THIS. BOOK. I died after reading this. Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare is the second instalment in The Dark Artifices series. The first book in this series is Lady Midnight which I read last year. I thought Lady Midnight was absolutely incredible and her best book to date. That is until I read Lord of Shadows. It blew Lady Midnight right out of the water. If you have read and enjoyed The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices series then you need to read this. It is an urban fantasy series that takes place in Los Angeles five years after the events that took place in The Mortal Instruments. The main characters were actually minor characters who made an appearance in City of Heavenly Fire. The characters are Shadowhunters, which are humans born with angel blood who slay demons and protect mundanes (humans). Every book Cassandra Clare writes is better than the previous one and Lord of Shadows is no exception. I was so emotional after reading it because THAT ENDING. I have so many theories for the next book, The Queen of Air and Darkness. Unfortunately, I have to wait TWO YEARS until its release. If you haven't read ANY of the Shadowhunter Chronicles then that's definitely something you should do this summer. I promise you will not regret it. 

#2

Speaking of the Shadowhunter Chronicles...I bought The Official Mortal Instruments Colouring Book!! I saw Cassandra Clare talking about it on her social media and was immediately obsessed. The drawings in here are gorgeously detailed and made by Cassandra Jean, who is a freelance illustartpr and comic artist. She works alongside Cassandra Clare and draws the characters from her books. I love how there are quotes on the left side which correspond with the drawing of the scene on the right side. I honestly can't wait to colour this book. I've been watching some colouring book tutorials by Sendaria13 and it has made me so inspired. I need to get Prismacolor Premier® Soft Core Coloured Pencil Set 72 pack because they are very blendable and will work great for this colouring book. I highly recommend getting a colouring book as a fun activity this summer. 

#3

My mom recently bought me The Body Shop Early-Harvest Raspberry Body Butter and Shower Gel because they were on sale. Last year I fell in love with the scent when I bought the Eau de Toilette. This range is perfect for summer and smells like you've been picking berries all day. I highly recommend you check out this scent and The Body Shop in general. It's one of the best body care stores ever. 

#4

I love this show so much. It is such a great comedy about girl power and doing what you love. Girlboss is a Netflix original about Sophia, who discovers a passion for fashion and becomes an unlikely businesswoman in the process. As her business grows, she learns to navigate being her own boss and owning her own company. This show is very loosely based on the true story of Nasty Gal Founder, Sophia Amoruso who wrote #girlboss back in 2015. Britt Robertson plays the character of Sophia and this role suits her so well. I have been watching Britt Robertson since she was in Life Unexpected (which is a great show by the way) and since then she's been in so many great movies. I'm so glad she landed this roll because she is rocking it. I highly recommend if you need a little laugh and a little inspriation. 

#5

Lorde's album, Melodrama just recently came out on June 16, 2017 and I love it. I talked about Green Light in another post and since then she has had two more singles: Sober and Perfect Places. I am soooo obsessed with both of them, especially Sober. The whole album is just so amazing. I have so many favourites it's hard to decide. I can't even describe her new style but I absolutely love Lorde and I am so happy for her comeback. 

#6

I have been obsessed with Dua Lipa's music since last year after hearing Be The One, Last Dance, New Love and then months later Hotter than Hell. Since then she has released many more singles from her self titled album as well as collaborations with Martin Garrix and Sean Paul. After pushing back her debut album, IT'S FINALLY HERE! AND. I. AM. OBSESSED. I feel like I've said that word in this post so much but I really am. The whole album is so good but the ones I recommend the most including the ones I mentioned earlier are Garden, New Rules (which is going to be her next single!!), and Genesis (the acoustic version is also so beautiful). I highly recommend you check out her music. She's incredibly talented and deserves even more fans. 

#7

I have loved Lady Antebellum's music since I heard Need You Now and Just A Kiss. After taking a year break, they are back with their new album, Heart Break, and I love it. My favourite songs on the album are You Look Good, Heart Break, Somebody Else's Heart, Big Love In A Small Town, and Home.

Thank you for reading today's post! I hope you have a great week filled with lots of fun. Have a great day!

love xena

Happy June everyone! So much has happened in the past two months and I've just been so busy that I haven't been posting as much as I'd like to. As you can tell from the title I have combined my favourites from both months and you know what that means...today's post is going to be a long one. So, if you would like to know everything I have enjoyed in the months of April and May then keep reading. 

Movie Favourites:

If you know me then you know I love Nicholas Sparks films. They're always so beautiful and emotional and this movie was no different. The Best of Me is about a pair of former high school sweethearts that reunite after many years when they return to visit their small hometown. It's tear-jerking and swoon-worthy and just one of my favourite movies of all-time. I highly recommend if you love romance!

“Me? I’m scared of everything. 
I’m scared of what I saw, I’m scared of what I did, 
of who I am, and most of all 
I’m scared of walking out of this room and never feeling the rest of my whole life 
the way I feel when I’m with you.” ~Baby

I had the time of my life watching this movie...(get it?). Dirty Dancing is just the ultimate classic. It's about Frances "Baby" Houseman, who spends the summer at a Catskills resort with her family, and ends up falling in love with the camp's dance instructor, Johnny Castle. The steamy, beautiful romance and incredible dance moves were just a sight for sore eyes. This is the kind of movie you can watch a million times over and still need to watch it again. You probably have already watched this but...GO WATCH IT AGAIN! 

Book Favourites:

Alex Approximately by Jenn Bennett

Read: April 22, 2017 - April 25, 2017

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5 stars) 

Summary:

The one guy Bailey Rydell can’t stand is actually the boy of her dreams—she just doesn’t know it yet.

Classic movie fan Bailey “Mink” Rydell has spent months crushing on a witty film geek she only knows online as Alex. Two coasts separate the teens until Bailey moves in with her dad, who lives in the same California surfing town as her online crush.

Faced with doubts (what if he’s a creep in real life—or worse?), Bailey doesn’t tell Alex she’s moved to his hometown. Or that she’s landed a job at the local tourist-trap museum. Or that she’s being heckled daily by the irritatingly hot museum security guard, Porter Roth—a.k.a. her new archnemesis. But life is whole lot messier than the movies, especially when Bailey discovers that tricky fine line between hate, love, and whatever it is she’s starting to feel for Porter.

And as the summer months go by, Bailey must choose whether to cling to a dreamy online fantasy in Alex or take a risk on an imperfect reality with Porter. The choice is both simpler and more complicated than she realizes, because Porter Roth is hiding a secret of his own: Porter is Alex…Approximately.

My Review:

New. Favourite. Book. It touched on the usual YA elements like family, friendships, and relationships―but it went so much deeper. It's definitely a more mature YA book though, as it discussed topics such as drugs, crime, and sex.

I instantly fell in love with everything this book has to offer. The California setting and beach-y town atmosphere was just so easy to visualize and it felt like you were actually there. I really loved the main character, Bailey, because she's so rational and mature, especially in her relationship with Porter (who is a great love interest by the way). Speaking of relationships, I love the hate-to-love relationship in this one. Their chemistry is through the roof and I also liked that they formed a friendship (unknowingly) through a common interest in old films. 

Something else I really like was that Grace, Bailey's best friend, and Porter, brought some diversity into this novel, specifically their culture and the food they eat. It added a really nice feel to the book and I'm glad Jenn incorporated it. 

This book was just so addicting and I couldn't put it down. It's become an all time favourite and I see myself rereading this in the near future. This is a must-read summer contemporary! Highly, highly recommend.

The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon
Read: April 28 2017 - May 1, 2017
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2 (4.5 stars)

Summary:
Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.

Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.


The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true? 

My Review:
Beautiful writing, wonderful characters, heart-warming but also heart-breaking, star-crossed love story. 

I love that this novel discusses culture and identity and I felt that it was done in such a profound way. I also took comfort in the fact that Natasha is Jamaican as I'm also from Jamaica. It was really nice reading about my culture from someone else's perspective. 

Also, Daniel was just the sweetest guy. I love how even though he and Natasha didn't share the same views on everything they learned something from one another. They both realized that life is a combination of both fate and free will, God and science. 

Seeing their relationship develop was the best. Nicola Yoon just wrote in their voices so well that it felt like I was actually reading from a teenager's point of view. Also, the way that she added random characters' perspectives who aren't really seen as important was also a really nice touch as you got to see how little things can affect someone's life so remarkably and with you being none the wiser. She took such heavy topics and made such a powerful story easy for young audiences to understand. 


I really loved reading this book and I can't wait to read Nicola Yoon's future works.

Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han
Read: May 3, 2017 - May 4, 2017
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5 stars) 

Summary: 
(This is a part of a series so this will spoil the previous two books!)

Lara Jean is having the best senior year a girl could ever hope for. She is head over heels in love with her boyfriend, Peter; her dad’s finally getting remarried to their next door neighbor, Ms. Rothschild; and Margot’s coming home for the summer just in time for the wedding.

But change is looming on the horizon. And while Lara Jean is having fun and keeping busy helping plan her father’s wedding, she can’t ignore the big life decisions she has to make. Most pressingly, where she wants to go to college and what that means for her relationship with Peter. She watched her sister Margot go through these growing pains. Now Lara Jean’s the one who’ll be graduating high school and leaving for college and leaving her family—and possibly the boy she loves—behind.


When your heart and your head are saying two different things, which one should you listen to? 

My Review:
I'm going to miss reading about Lara Jean's life so much. This book just made me feel so many emotions, as usual with a Jenny Han book. It made me feel so wistful and nostalgic like I was the one graduating high school and moving on in life. This book was everything I hoped it would be. After I finished the last sentence I just wanted to start the whole series over again. It's a bittersweet feeling that it's the end but I'm so glad to have read this series. It will always and forever be one of my favourites.

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
Read: May 5, 2017 - May 13, 2017
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5 stars) 

Summary:
(This is a part of a series so this will spoil the previous two books!) 

A nightmare, I’d told Tamlin. I was the nightmare.

Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin’s maneuverings and the invading king threatening to bring Prythian to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit—and one slip may spell doom not only for Feyre, but for her world as well. As war bears down upon them all, Feyre must decide who to trust amongst the dazzling and lethal High Lords—and hunt for allies in unexpected places.

My Review:
Loved it! Not as much as A Court of Mist and Fury but a super close second. Can't wait to read the rest of the series as there are some things left unresolved with side characters. 2018 can't come close enough!

Music Favourites: 

I am so excited to watch this movie as you might have seen in my recent post that I went to the Everything Everything signing. I fell in love with the soundtrack for this movie and they just fit the story so well. Click on the links to have a listen!

How Did We by Skylar Stecker
Human Touch by Betty Who
Runnin' (Lose It All) by Naughty Boy, Beyoncé, and Arrow Benjamin

I just recently heard Cold to the Touch by Ralph as it was advertised on Youtube. I fell in love with the catchy beat and the simplicity of the song. It's such a fun summer song. Check it out! 

Songs I Wrote With Amy by Ed Sheeran is an old favourite of mine. It has just been so relaxing to listen to while I do my homework as it calms me down and helps me focus. I highly recommend if you love Ed Sheeran or singer/songwriter music!

I hope you all had a great weekend and have a wonderful week. I'll see you soon! xx

love xena

Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han (I'll have a review for this book up soon. I loved it).

La Fleur Fine Fragrance Mist by Bath and Body Works (Makes you smell like a beautiful floral garden).

 C.O. Bigelow Rose Salve (Best. Lip Balm. Ever). 

Italian White Sunflowers from Michaels

Gorgeous Storage Box from Winners

Garland from Dollarama

 Twine from Michaels

 Pictures from Pinterest.

Go Play Outside Art Print by thewheatfield on Etsy. 

I love this print! The bright colours and fun doodles are so uplifting and really make me smile. 

I've been obsessed with this pop rock sister trio since their first album Days Are Gone back in 2013. Four years later and they've finally released new music. I love their new sound. They just have a really nice style to their music that you just don't tend to hear that often. It's so refreshing and different (in a good way) from their previous record. Want You Back by Haim is my #1 most listened to song this week. This song is just the perfect song to sing and dance along to (which I've been doing a lot). I can't wait until their new album, Something to Tell You, coming out July 7, 2017! 

I hope you all had a great week and have a great day today! I'll see you soon with a new post. xx

love xena

I had the best time meeting Nicola Yoon, the author of Everything, Everything and The Sun Is Also A Star, and Stella Meghie the director of Everything, Everything. They're both such nice and talented ladies. I highly recommend you read both of Nicola Yoon's books because they are so amazing. The movie comes out May 19th so don't forget to check it out! Watch the trailer below! (I can't stop watching it. It's a problem).    

I hope you all had a fabulous week and have a Happy Saturday and great week ahead. I'll see you soon with a new post! xx

love xena

#1: TV Show

Thirteen Reasons Why is such an emotional, gripping, and powerful new show. If you haven't heard of it, essentially, it is about a 17-year-old girl named Hannah Baker who commits suicide. Clay Jensen, the boy in the poster above, gets a set of cassette tapes that Hannah created and on each one is a different reason why Hannah decided to take her life. It's a very important show to watch and shows how much one person can effect someone's life. I read the book a few years ago and thought it was pretty good but I loved the ending the most. The show changed a few things and due to a lot of things being left unresolved I believe (I hope) season 2 becomes a thing. I highly recommend you watch it but be aware that there are trigger warnings for violence, self-harm, suicide, and rape. 

#2: Music

÷ (Divide) by Ed Sheeran takes the cake for album of the year and the year's not even over yet! I love every song on this album, no joke. His songs always resonate with me and make me feel so happy. He is a truly talented person, I mean his songwriting and ability to evoke so much emotion in his songs is just incredible. Non-stop been playing this album and I think it's one of my favourites of all time. 

Other songs I've been loving listening to:

Lust for Life ft. The Weeknd - Lana Del Rey

The Cure - Lady Gaga

When I'm Alone - Lissie

Stay Gold - First Aid Kit
Crowded Places - BANKS

#3: Books

I am addicted! I just recently started the Royally Series by Emma Chase. I read Royally Screwed and Royally Matched in two days each (4 days altogether). Mind you, they are short books but they are so unputdownable. 

Royally Screwed is about Prince Nicholas Pembrook, Crowned Prince of Wessco, who is incredibly handsome and used to being bowed down to. Then, one snowy night in Manhattan, the prince meets a dark haired beauty, Olivia Hammond, who doesn’t bow down. Instead, she throws a pie in his face. He becomes very intrigued by her and wants to take her out on a date. For waitress Olivia Hammond, dating a prince isn't what she imagined it would be like. There’s a disapproving queen, a wildly inappropriate spare heir, relentless paparazzi, and brutal public scrutiny. But to Olivia―Nicholas is worth it. Nicholas grew up with the whole world watching, and now Marriage Watch is in full force. In the end, Nicholas has to decide who he is and, more importantly, who he wants to be: a King... or the man who gets to love Olivia forever.

 Royally Matched is the sequel to Royally Screwed but it's not a continuation. It follows a different couple but I highly recommend you read Royally Screwed first as the male main characters are related and both are incredibly witty and a bit naughty. 

These were incredible fun and entertaining books. I loved Royally Screwed but I think I love Royally Matched even more because the main girl is a librarian who loves romance books!! ALSO, the (last?) book in this series, Royally Endowed, comes out June 15, 2017. So, if you are intrigued then definitely go read the first two so you can read the last one when it comes out. Highly, highly recommend if you are a sucker for romance and princes like myself. 

#4: Body Care 

Bath and Body Works recently came out with their new French Collection and it was actually on sale (it's on sale for $6.50 until April 23, 2017) so my mom and I got some new products. I love this collection. Every scent smells sooo good. B&BW really stepped up their game because the scents smell so expensive. I got both La Fleur (1) and Rose Champagne (2) in a Body Cream (1) (2) and Fine Fragrance Mist (1) (2). La Fleur smells like you just rolled around in a beautifully smelling garden and Rose Champagne smells like candy, roses, and fizz. I am beyond impressed with the smell and the packaging of these products. I can't wait until the French candles come out! 

I hope you all had a great week and have a great day tomorrow. Keep well and I'll write soon! xx

love xena

Easter manicure: Essie Gel Couture nail polish in...

 Dress Call (light purple) 

First View (baby blue) 

 Haute to Trot (pretty pink) 

Beautiful spring bouquet

Lindt Chocolate Easter Chick 

Oooh! I wonder what's inside? 

My momma's Easter gift to me!

My new stuffed animals! I'm going to put them on my bookshelf!

Close up of these goregous light purple flowers and baby's breath 

Chocolate cake with raspberry filling

I hope you all had a great Easter and long weekend! I'll see you soon with a new post. Keep safe, happy, and healthy!

love xena 

Hello, everyone! This whole week I have been missing March Break terribly and wishing I could rewind time. It was just so relaxing and fun--especially not having homework for a whole entire week! Unfortunately, the break is over but that doesn't mean the fun has to end! I've been thinking about fun things to do on the weekend after a stressful and work-filled week and that's what today's post is all about. As much as having work to do and being productive is important, we all need a break from the stress and time to relax and do something fun. So, I've come up with a few ideas and recommendations if you are in need of a fun 'March Breekend'--get it?

1) Dinner and a movie!

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My mom and I went on a dinner and movie date over the March Break and it was absolutely wonderful. We ate at Red Lobster (I recommend the Shrimp Linguine Alfredo) and after that we browsed in the mall for a bit since that was where the movie was playing. We watched Beauty and the Beast and oh..my..gosh. It was magical. The animation was incredible, the colours were vibrant, and the singing and acting was fabulous. It's a movie for everyone regardless of your age. I highly recommend watching this movie. You won't want to miss it!

2) Bake a treat!

I don't know about you but sometimes I just randomly feel like baking. I think it's because I look at a lot of incredibly mouth-watering recipes on Pinterest all the time. Whether it's a cake mix or from scratch I think baking is just so relaxing and the end result is always the best part. I'm going to recommend a pretty simple recipe to you all: Banana Bread! I absolutely love banana bread but this recipe is off-the-charts amazing! Definitely try it out!

3) Have a marathon of your favourite show!

This is probably my favourite thing to do on the weekend when I have little to no homework. You probably already do this but I'll use this as a chance to recommend some amazing shows to binge-watch. 

Gilmore Girls and Gossip Girl are the best shows to binge-watch and rewatch over and over. They are just incredibly addicting and you'll never get tired of them. Once Upon A Time is the perfect show for everyone because it's based on fairytales which is something everyone can enjoy. Baby Daddy is just hilarious and so cute. They just recently celebrated their 100th episode and season 6 is currently playing on TV. I highly recommend all of these shows!

4) Read a book!

You already know how much I love to read so this should come as no surprise. I am going to recommend two books that aren't very long and are so unputdownable that you'll definitely be able to finish them over the 2-day break (possibly even both of them if you want to). 

First up, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli.

Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

My Review: 

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
My rating: 4 of 5 stars 

This made me feel like I was on happy pills. It's honestly such a cutesy read filled with great dialogue, awesome friendships, pop culture references, and diversity!!! Also, I love that for the most part people were accepting of Simon's sexuality. I felt that everything was very realistic, the relationships especially. Overall, super cute and adorable read.

"The way I feel about him is like a heartbeat—soft and persistent, underlying everything." ~ Becky Albertalli

View all my reviews

Next, I'll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson.

Synopsis: Jude and her twin brother, Noah, are incredibly close. At thirteen, isolated Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude cliff-dives and wears red-red lipstick and does the talking for both of them. But three years later, Jude and Noah are barely speaking. Something has happened to wreck the twins in different and dramatic ways . . until Jude meets a cocky, broken, beautiful boy, as well as someone else—an even more unpredictable new force in her life. The early years are Noah's story to tell. The later years are Jude's. What the twins don't realize is that they each have only half the story, and if they could just find their way back to one another, they’d have a chance to remake their world.

This radiant novel from the acclaimed, award-winning author of The Sky Is Everywhere will leave you breathless and teary and laughing—often all at once.

My Review:

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Incredibly poetic and imaginative. This book is really like no other. It's beautifully and vividly written, with raw and emotional scenes that tug at your heart, yet also so inspiring and artistic at the same time. It's a wonderful coming of age story and a true masterpiece. When I'm not reading it I'm thinking about it. It's spellbinding and relatable and just perfection. I wish every book I read was like this book but then it wouldn't be as special as it is. This is a book everyone should read. I'd give this book a gazillion stars.

P.S. Do not listen to Troye Sivan after reading this book unless you want to a have huge sob-fest. If you do want to bawl your eyes out then I recommend watching the Blue Neighbourhood Trilogy and listening to Swimming Pools. Even thinking about it makes me feel emotional. 

View all my reviews

I hope you enjoyed today's post and got some ideas on how to spend your March Breekend! I hope you all had a great day today and have a great weekend. I wish you well!

love xena