Whilst I’ve always been a little fickle and excitable when it comes to fashion, frequently changing my style depending on my mood at the time, in some ways I definitely stick to what I know. As much as I love window shopping and poring over glossy style blogs to get inspiration, I’m not what you could call a follower of fashion. I most definitely know what I like, and I shop for me rather than buying into to every new trend. This does mean I’m a pretty savvy shopper, which can be a huge help when there is a tantalising sale going on…! But the downside is that once I find that perfect item, the fickle side of me decides I must consume it in every print and colour conceivable, which isn’t quite so good for the old bank balance!!

I’m demonstrating this curse perfectly by showing you for the…

Well, we certainly seem to be sticking with the floral theme this week, don’t we?!

The last lot were a bit loud and in your face, but this time I’ve gone a little more subtle with this gorgeous button through midi skirt from Primark. It’ll probably be hard to believe this given the mad shopping rampage I’ve been on the last couple of weeks, but it’s actually very rare that I impulse buy. I’m more of a thinker, and tend to agonise over a new item for quite some time before buying it, not to mention spending hours trawling the internet for discount codes or second hand versions, convinced I will love it just that little bit more of I could just shave off a few pennies. This actually normally results on me not getting it at all, of course, because it inevitably then sells out completely, leading me to…

Whoops. I allowed a li’l bit of radio silence to creep in there, didn’t I?? It’s been quite a while since I let it go that long without posting, but honestly? Posting every day while having a full time job is not the easiest – or at least not if you also want to have a social life anyway! I’ve been on a great roll this year of being organised enough to have content going live most days, but it was inevitable that with work being super busy, a week in another country and a couple of jam packed weekends the pre-written stuff was bound to run out at some point. There were more than a couple of times this week where I started to get jittery about the fact I hadn’t posted in a few days and found myself wanting to ditch whatever plans I’d made to rush home…

Well, the big day is almost here, and it goes without saying that I am very much looking forward to sinking a beverage or six with my loved ones in the next few days! There are so many festive choices to go with – Prosecco on Christmas morning is traditional for us, I love a bit of mulled wine and of course the Baileys makes an appearance on a fairly frequent basis this time of year. But we all know my real love is gin, so how do you keep things festive without forgoing your favourite tipple?

Well, as it turns out, really easily! There are oodles of Christmas themed gins on the market thanks to that big old boom in popularity it’s had over the last few years, and I had always planned on making sure I tried one of them out especially for the blog – oh, the…

“Do not let your fear decide your fate.”

★★★★✩

I already had this book on my TBR, but what made put it on my Sinterklaas wishlist was Hester‘s (@HesterS_) enthousiasm over the book. It just clicked something in me that I said: ”Yes, I want that book.” I am very glad I took the step as I enjoyed this book toroughly! By the way, you should check out her ARC review!

I really enjoyed reading this book. I have had a low-key interest in Japanese culture since I was about twelve years old when a classmate and friend told me all about anime, manga, the language and more. It just hooked onto something in me and even though I am not actively doing anything with all that anymore, this book was a welcome surprise for that Japanese interest that still lingered.

The flow of the story and the…

Happy Thursday and welcome to my stop on The Game of Hope blog tour hosted by Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours! My favorite trilogy, hands-down, is the Josephine B. Trilogy written by Sandra Gulland, and I could not wait to read Hortense’s story.

My Thoughts:

I am a huge Sandra Gulland fan. Her Josephine B. (Bonaparte) trilogy books are some of my favorite historical fiction works. I was thrilled that she would be taking on Josephine’s daughter’s story in The Game of Hope. 

Hortense’s story is classified as young adult but is suitable for adults, too. Beginning four short years after the Terror of the French Revolution, Hortense is enrolled in a boarding school. She is talented with music, art, and academics, but she daydreams of Christophe, a military officer and friend of her brother’s. 

Hortense’s mother, Josephine, has recently married Napoleon Bonaparte of whom Hortense is not…